The Final Stroll on Perseus's Arm Read online

  “The BOGAs,” Misha confirmed, remembering the name Finaeus used for the Orion Guard’s spy organization.

  “One and the same,” Finaeus replied.

  Sabrina said.

  Finaeus shrugged. “That’s the only place The Hand ever ran into them. But Kirkland also has internal police forces too. Some public, some secret.”

  “I’ve heard of one of those,” Misha said. “Out on the far side of Stillwater. We called them the Widows.”

  “Really?” Finaeus asked. “Why’s that?”

  “I’ve only heard rumors, but they were the ones the Feds would send in if someone was trafficking in illegal tech. The stories always have them clothed in black, always women. They’d appear, seize the tech, often killing whoever had it, and then be gone like that,” Misha said, snapping his fingers for emphasis.

  Sabrina asked.

  “Close. I knew a guy who saw one, once. He was going to do a deal for some genetic mods. The life extending ones.”

  Finaeus crossed his arms. “So how’d your friend escape.”

  “Well, he didn’t trust the seller, so he was scouting the place out. It was going down in a section of a station that was cordoned off for repairs. He sent in some probes and was watching remote feeds when he spotted a shadow that moved.”

  Sabrina interjected.

  “Hey, let me tell this,” Misha replied. “Anyway, he watched the shadow as it slipped through the station, until it got to the meeting place. He kept trying to see what was casting it, but he couldn’t. It didn’t look like a person, more like an amorphous blob. Anyway, when it got to the meeting place, it stopped moving. Before long the seller showed up. That’s when the shadow suddenly formed into a woman.”

  Misha took a sip of the bourbon he’d brought in with him before continuing. “She was sheathed in black. Her head, face, everything. The seller guy, well, he freaked. I guess he’d heard the rumors as well. He tried to run, but then black tendrils shot out from the Widow’s hands and caught his neck.”

  “Tendrils?” Finaeus asked. “Solid, or particulate?”

  Misha shrugged. “I forgot to ask. Either way the tendrils killed the guy fast. A lot quicker than choking. He said the Widow took the case with the tech, wrapped it in something, and then she and the case turned back into a shadow and left.”

  “Sounds like personal stealth tech,” Finaeus mused. “Your friend’s probes probably picked up some EM shadow or something caused by the stealth system. They’re good, but not perfect.”

  Misha then explained how the Peerless Transport shuttle from Ur had been cancelled, but still made the trip down to Ferra.

  Sabrina asked.

  “If they’re a secret government agency, they’ll have much better tech than the Orion populace gets their hands on,” Finaeus replied. “Maybe one of us screwed up, tipped our hand, and they investigated.”

 

  Finaeus ran a hand through his hair and walked across the bridge, then turned and walked back. “I don’t know what to think. We’re off in pure speculation-land right now. All we do know is that a very uncommon Orion Guard vessel is currently docked up on Ur, and its linked to a shuttle that came down at an unusual time to an unusual place.”

  Sabrina said.

  Misha stared at the ship on the holo, remembering how creeped out his friend had been when telling the story of the Widow. “We need to call the girls.”

  Sabrina replied.

  PEERLESS TRANSPORT

  STELLAR DATE: 03.10.8948 (Adjusted Years)

  LOCATION: Parda City, Ferra, Sullus System

  REGION: Midway Cluster, Orion Freedom Alliance Space

  “The fuck!” Jessica swore and slammed her fist into the stairwell door. “We’ve checked fifty exits from the storm drainage system and there’s not a single sign of them anywhere!”

  Iris said, her soothing tone coming across as forced.

  Nance leant against the wall and tugged at thick braid into which her long brown hair was woven. “They had to leave the tunnels somewhere.”

  “And we’ve checked fifty exits out of thousands,” Jessica replied. “We could spend a year doing this and never turn up a trace.”

  Iris said.

  “I just figured whoever had taken Cheeky would be an amateur, that they’d leave a trail. But this was a pro, and the trail’s getting cold, fast.”

  “We could split up,” Nance offered. “We’ll cover more ground like that. I know you think it’s too risky, but—”

  “But it’s too risky,” Jessica countered. “We’re dealing with someone who was able to snatch Cheeky right out from under my nose. If we go off on our own we’ll just add to the missing.”

  Sabrina said broke into their conversation, a strange note in her voice.

  Jessica retorted.

 

  Nance interrupted.

 

  Jessica prompted.

  Sabrina proceeded to explain the ship’s Orion connections, and related Misha’s story of the Widows—which would explain how Cheeky’s abductor was able to disappear so completely. Though the Orion Guard using an all-female group of assassin tech hunters struck her as hard to believe.

  Jessica started up the stairwell.

  Nance said.

  Sabrina said.

  Jessica replied as she and Nance reached the parking garage’s main floor.

  Sabrina replied.

  “I don’t like it,” Nance said as they walked out of the building to the sidewalk. “I feel like we’re leaving Cheeky and Piya behind. They’re probably still in the city, you know.”

  Erin said.

  “Pardon me if I’m not super-excited about the two of them riding to the rescue,” Nance muttered.

  “Calling a car,” Jessica said. “Misha’s come a long way, I’ve been working with him a lot. Finaeus is no slouch either.”

  “OK, sure,” Nance replied. “Still rather it be us who find her.”

  Jessica nodded. “I hear you there. You never know. Maybe we’ll catch up with the mysterious Widow out at this other spaceport.”

  “Jess, you don’t really believe that, do you?” Nance asked as a car drew up to the curb and Jessica pulled open the door.

  Jessica gestured for Nance to get in first. “Yes and no. Stealth tech like Misha described was not uncommon back in Sol. That the Orion Guard would have it at their disposal does not surprise me. An all-female black-ops team? I suppose it’s possible, but it seems odd to leave men out. What purpose could that serve?”

  Nance shrugged as Jessica closed the door. “Well, if it is one of th
ose Widows who has Cheeky, we’ll have to ask her. After we beat the shit out of her, at least.”

  Erin asked.

  Nance placed her hand on her face. “Trying to add some levity to the situation, Erin?”

 

  Jessica chuckled. “I’m all in favor of lightening the mood—no pun intended—but poop jokes rarely work for that.”

  Erin countered.

  “Then leave it to the masters,” Nance replied.

  Seven minutes later the car pulled up at the public transport pad. The pad wasn’t much more than a large lot behind a shopping district where light shuttles, and VTOL aircraft could touch down.

  “There she is.” Jessica pointed into the deepening dusk at the gleaming shape of the SS Sexy lowering onto the pad.

  Sabrina said.

  Jessica said as they walked between the ships on the pad, looking for a pinnace similar to the Sexy.

  Sabrina asked.

  Jessica couldn’t help but laugh.

  Iris advised.

  As Jessica and Nance approached the Sexy, the pinnace’s ramp lowered, and they rushed onto the ship.

  “Iris, or Erin, would one of you ladies get us airborne? Nance and I need to gear up.”

  Iris said as the pinnace’s ramp closed behind them and the ship lifted into the air on its grav drive.

  The two women walked into the second cabin, and Nance activated the door into the secret armory. Little more than a closet, it was stocked well enough to outfit four people in light armor, and tactical gear.

  “Glad to get out of this,” Jessica said as she pulled the dress off.

  “Why?” Nance asked with a wink as she undressed.

  “As if you have to ask,” Jessica retorted. “Having to wear a long, flowing dress is the second-worst thing that’s happened today.”

  Iris chided.

  Jessica didn’t respond as she pulled on a matte black kinetic dampening underlayer. Once wrapped in its comforting embrace, she stepped onto the armoring pad.

  The machine wrapped the ablative plating around her body, then added weapon mounts and ammo pouches. Once the process was complete, it placed the helmet-seal collar around her neck. Directly across from her, Nance was undergoing the same process. They watched each other without speaking, making sure the armoring system did everything properly.

  Once it was complete, they stepped off the pads in unison and selected their weapons from the rack.

  “Let’s try to keep it to quiet stuff,” Jessica advised as she grabbed a flechette pistol, a pulse pistol, and a pair of vibr-blades, a new toy she’d picked up a few systems back. She slid the vibr-blades into slots built into her armor’s thigh-plates and considered rifle options.

  “You should at least have a pulse rifle,” Nance advised. “We may have to fight our way through locals to get out of there.”

  “Yeah, just trying to decide on straight pulse, or a multi-mode.”

  Nance grabbed one of the multi-mode rifles and handed it to Jessica. “Seriously. You know you want the boom-stick, just take it.”

  Jessica grabbed the weapon with a laugh and hooked it onto her back.

  Iris chimed in.

  “Works for me,” Jessica replied as she picked up a helmet. “Gonna grab a bite before we set down.”

  “Good call,” Nance agreed. “Haven’t had anything since my chocolate martini at the bar.”

  Jessica glanced at Nance. “Really? Dirtside and a quintuple threat? I’m impressed.”

  “Cargo and Trever rated it six-x.” Nance grinned.

  “It’s like you’re all grown up, Nance.”

  Seven minutes later, Jessica stood at the top of the ramp, pulling her helmet on as Nance rushed up, still chewing.

  “Butter was frozen,” she said with a grin.

  Jessica shook her head, and waited for Nance to seat her helmet before they walked down the ramp into the deepening dusk.

  They stood between two long rows of smaller shuttles and pinnaces. Most were dark and appeared unoccupied, though a few—such as the Sexy—illuminated the area around them with their running lights.

  Jessica asked Nance as they casually strolled along the illuminated path running between the ships.

 

  Jessica replied.

  Nance’s mental tone was whimsical.

  Erin supplied.

  Jessica laughed softly.

  Nance said, her voice quiet.

 

  Nance shrugged.

 

  Iris flashed a warning over their HUDs.

  Jessica said.

  Iris retorted.

  Nance ducked behind the nearest docking cradle hiding in the shadows of a light shuttle, the name Fearless Bubbly painted on its side.

  Being armed and armored on the pad wasn’t a problem—many of the ships employed private security. However, the spaceport’s regulations stated all guards had to be registered and screened by the port authority.

  Jessica and Nance had been through neither of those processes.

  The footfalls grew closer, turned a corner, and two armored guards came into view. They walked through an opening between the rows of ships, and turned down the row Jessica and Nance were in.

  Jessica looked behind the shuttle beneath which they were crouched and studied the concrete wall separating the rows. She and Nance could make it over, but it would put them directly in view of surveillance not yet disabled by the Iris’s probes.

  Jessica said.

  Nance replied.

  The guards drew closer, and the two women stood rock-still in the shadow of the shuttle, when a tingle ran across Jessica’s skin and she sneezed.

  Her helmet muffled the sound, but she shifted and her foot twisted, kicking out a small pebble out from underneath.
The rock made a loud pling as it hit one of the cradle’s struts, and the feed from the probes showed the pair of guards had stopped.

 

 

  Nance admonished.

 

 

  The two guards were approaching the shuttle and Jessica straightened.

  Iris commented.

  The guards were within twenty meters of the shuttle when Nance reached up and pulled off her helmet.

  Jessica asked as she quickly complied, leaning past Nance to set her rifle against the strut.

  As she did, Nance grabbed the collar of Jessica’s armor and pulled her close, planting her lips on Jessica’s. Then her hands were in Jessica’s hair, pulling it free to cascade around their faces.

  Nance said.

 

  “Because you’re celibate,” Nance whispered as she pulled her lips away from Jessica’s for a moment.

  “Not you too,” Jessica replied with a soft groan. “Seriously, though, a six-x threat, and now this? What’s come over you today?”

  One of the guards came into view a second later, hand on her pistol.

  “Hey! You two, what are you—”

  Nance and Jessica turned their heads, but kept their bodies pressed together, hoping the darkness and their proximity would hide the quality of their armor.

  “What does it look like we’re doing?” Jessica asked.

  “Shit!” The guard swore. “You two scared the piss outta me. What are you two doing under there?”