Chapter 14
I stood on the bridge, reviewing corporate supply routes that we could interdict.
The area of the galaxy we could operate in safely had shrunk after the failed rescue operation, and many of the independent stations we relied on for assistance were starting to have second thoughts about how much aid they could provide.
It was frustrating, but I understood where they were coming from.
They were looking out for their best interests; they had to.
It certainly wasn't optimal for us, but we couldn't make more enemies than we already had.
That doesn't mean we would forget their decisions, it just means the conversation would be had another day.
"A galaxy-wide emergency broadcast has been received," Vaelix said.
"Main viewscreen," Torvyn ordered.
The corporate insignia appeared as trumpets played a fanfare. It slowly dissolved, replaced by the gleaming white teeth of the one man I really didn't want to see. Director Voss. The wine stain you just couldn't wash out of the couch, no matter how much you sprayed it with commercial cleaners.
"This man is persistent," Torvyn said.
"That and ass-kissing are his top two professional skills," I said.
Voss's voice came through the ship's speakers, crisp and calm.
"Greetings from the Corporate Council. We have a very important announcement that impacts everyone in the galaxy."
Vaelix cleared his throat. "This broadcast is going out on all frequencies, including those reserved for emergencies. It's even being broadcast to unincorporated space and the Reach."
Torvyn snapped his head around, eyes wide. "He's broadcasting this to the Reach?"
"Isn't that a good thing? The Reach will help us, won't they?" I asked.
Torvyn, Lyrin, and Vaelix all shared a look, and I felt a muted wave of trepidation flow through the Tether.
"What was that? The look and the feeling?" I asked.
"It's complicated," Torvyn said.
Before I could ask anything else, Voss spoke again.
"After the recent failed terrorist attack on a Corporate colony, our intelligence services have identified the mastermind behind the destabilization efforts taking place across corporate space."
His face disappeared, and an old, corporate photo of me took its place.
"You have got to be kidding me," I said.
"He's making you the face of this," Vaelix said.
Voss continued. "Doctor Kira Vale abandoned the corporation months ago when she joined the Zorathi Pirate vessel, Starbreaker."
"We aren't pirates," Torvyn muttered.
Voss grinned, as if he could hear the statement.
"She is a disgruntled former employee who was reprimanded for poor performance.
Instead of working for the betterment of mankind, she has repeatedly masterminded attacks against Corporate employees and property as retribution against us for the fair reviews of her professional performance. "
"I could punch the viewscreen right now," I said, my fists clenching.
A huge number flashed on the screen. "The Corporate Council wants to bring good order and discipline back to the galaxy.
So we have tripled the bounty on Dr. Kira Vale, provided she is brought in alive and unharmed.
The bounty on the Starbreaker and its crew remains unchanged.
They may be delivered dead or alive; we have no preference. "
I watched the number hover on screen. My face didn't move. Somewhere distant, I registered that this amount would provide generational wealth for anyone who turned me in. Alive and unharmed. They wanted my mind, not my corpse.
Lyrin was at my left before I registered movement.
Vaelix flanked my right, his hand brushing mine, brief, deliberate.
Torvyn positioned himself slightly forward, between me and the viewscreen, as if he could shield me from a broadcast. His hand found my shoulder, shaking with barely contained anger.
"We will also be placing sanctions on any space station that allows safe harbor to the Starbreaker. We can touch the entire galaxy, so don't try your luck," Voss said.
"We need to discuss this now," I said. "Only the Knights."
Torvyn nodded, his eyes still locked on the viewscreen.
"We here at the Corporate Council look forward to working with you to bring this terrorist to justice. May your shipments arrive safely and your bottom lines be black. Thank you for your attention to this matter," Voss said, then the screen went black.
"Ready room, now," Torvyn said.
We filed into the ready room. Vaelix pulled up a star map of the local area, highlighting space stations, supply routes, and known corporate frigate patrol areas.
"We need to reach out to our allied stations immediately," I said. "Get a feel for where they stand after that broadcast."
Torvyn nodded. "Vaelix, connect us to Station Bravo-Zulu. If Granthol won't help us, no one will."
"Connecting now," Vaelix said.
The star map dissolved, and a large, bulbous, bald head appeared. Six eyes blinked back at us.
"Greetings, Granthol," Torvyn said. "We need a safe harbor. Can you assist us?"
Four of Granthol's six eyes narrowed. "You saw that broadcast."
"We did,” Torvyn replied.
"And you still decided to contact me?" He let out a long breath.
"Even if I wanted to offer you a docking bay, my insurance underwriters would triple my premiums the second you entered the system. Not to mention that my crew would toss me out of the closest airlock they could find. It’s nothing personal, Doctor Vale.
This is strictly a business decision. Your presence is a liability and a risk that I cannot accept. "
"We've been allies for a long time," Torvyn said. "And there was the Pegasus incident, which we helped you with."
Granthol sucked his teeth. "I wondered when you would bring that up. I remember what you and the Knights did for me, and I am still grateful. But you know who wasn't there?" He pointed at me. "Her. She didn't help me with anything. I owe her nothing."
"She is one of us now," Torvyn said, an edge creeping into his voice.
"But she wasn't when you helped me. So here is what I am willing to do," Granthol said, spreading his hands. "You, the Knights, and the Starbreaker are welcome on my station. She is not. If she enters this system, I will contact Director Voss and collect that bounty myself."
The words hung in the air. I felt Torvyn tense beside me, felt the anger rising through the Tether from all three of them. But I understood. Granthol wasn't betraying us. He was doing exactly what I would have done in his position, what anyone would do when the math stopped working in their favor.
"I understand," I said, before Torvyn could respond. "Thank you for your honesty, Granthol."
He blinked, clearly expecting an argument. "I truly am sorry, Doctor Vale. I wish all of you the best of luck."
I signaled Vaelix to cut the feed.
The star map reappeared. I stared at Station Bravo-Zulu's marker; still highlighted, still within range. But it might as well have been on the other side of the galaxy.
Voss hadn't turned Granthol against us. He'd just made my presence more expensive than our history was worth. Elegant. Surgical. I hated that I could see the craft in it.
"I won't forget this," Torvyn said quietly.
"You should," I said. "He made the right call. We'd do the same thing."
No one argued with me.
Lyrin steepled his fingers. "We must also consider the crew's reaction to this broadcast. Will anyone here try to turn Kira in? Do we trust everyone on board?"
New fear unlocked!
Not right now.
Sure. We’ll just wait for somebody to slip a knife in our back while we are eating that disgusting fake food in the—
Shut up.
You shut up.
I blinked and cleared my mind.
"I hadn’t thought about that before you asked,” I said. "Will I be safe walking the corridors of this ship?"
"Yes," Torvyn said. "Because at least one of us will be with you at all times."
I started to argue, but Lyrin cut me off.
"This isn't a personal decision, Kira, it's a professional one. You, the woman we love, aren’t who we are protecting. You, one of the leaders of the Starbreaker, are."
"Will the crew see it that way?" I asked. "Or will they just see the Zorathi Knights giving special treatment to a human woman who has caused everybody here a lot of pain and suffering?"
"The Starbreaker is not a democracy," Torvyn said. "We will take appropriate measures to keep everyone safe."
"We have already started," Vaelix said. "I placed the ship on a communications blackout the moment Voss announced the bounty change. Every message sent is now filtered through the primary system. Any suspicious messages will be flagged, and the sender will be addressed appropriately."
I looked at the star map again, at all the stations that had been friendly yesterday and were question marks today. We'd need to contact each one. I already knew what we'd find.
"How many more calls do we need to make?" I asked.
"Seven stations within reasonable range," Vaelix said.
"Then let's get started." I pulled up the next contact. "I want to know exactly how small our world just got."
The calls blurred together. Same sympathetic faces.
Same apologetic refusals. Of the seven stations we'd contacted, five had given us variations of Granthol's answer: the Knights and the Starbreaker were welcome, but my presence made docking impossible.
The other two hadn't answered at all, which told me everything I needed to know.
I stood on the bridge and turned the situation over in my head. The bridge crew worked at their stations, but I felt their attention. Sideways glances. Conversations that shut down when I walked by. They had all seen the broadcast, and now they were doing the math.
"I need everyone's attention," I said.
Stations went quiet. The bridge crew turned to face me. Faces I'd come to know over the past months, some friendly, some neutral. They all regarded me with the same guarded expression.
"You've all seen Director Voss's broadcast. You know what he's offering." I kept my voice level. "I'm not going to pretend that number isn't significant. It would change anyone's life. It would change your family's life."
No one spoke.
Good. I needed them to hear this.
"Here's what that bounty means operationally.
Five of seven allied stations have declined to allow us to dock as long as I'm aboard.
Our supply options have shrunk. Our safe transit corridors have narrowed.
Every risk calculation this ship makes now includes my presence as a destabilizing variable. " I paused. "That's the plain truth."
Torvyn stepped forward, but I held up a hand.
I needed to be the one to say this.
"I'm telling you this because you deserve the truth.
Voss didn't triple my bounty because I'm a terrorist. He tripled it because I know how to stop him.
He wants me alive and unharmed. He wants what's in my head.
" I tapped my temple. "The Knights, the Starbreaker, he'll take you dead.
He needs me alive. That should tell you everything about what he's actually afraid of. "
A young engineer shifted at his station. I met his eyes directly.
"If anyone here is calculating whether to turn me in, I won't insult you by pretending I don't understand, but let me tell you something about Director Voss, based on my personal experiences with him.
" I stepped forward. "The Corporate Council doesn't honor deals with people it considers beneath them.
You turn me in, you'll get a fraction of that bounty and a target on your back.
They'll assume you know what I know. They'll wonder what I told you. "
I let that sink in.
"I'm not asking for loyalty based on sentiment.
I'm asking you to recognize that Voss's strategy isn't about me; it's about fracturing this crew. It’s about ending the threat to the corporation’s rule.
He wants you looking over your shoulders.
He wants the Knights distracted, protecting me instead of fighting him.
He wants us to tear ourselves apart so he doesn't have to. "
I turned back to the display, studying the scattered markers of stations that had closed their doors.
"So here's how we move forward. My presence is now a tactical factor, and we'll treat it as one. Routes, docking protocols, supply runs, all of it gets recalculated. We don't waste time on emotions." I looked back at the crew. "We focus on our new strategy. Nothing more."
Lyrin's voice came through the Tether, private and warm. Well done.
I ignored it. We all needed to focus on the task at hand.
"The mission hasn't changed. The Corporate Council is still exploiting the galaxy. We're still the ones fighting back. The only difference is that I've become more expensive to keep around." I smiled, but there was no humor in it. "Let's make sure I'm worth the price."
I turned back to my station and pulled up the revised route calculations. Behind me, I heard the crew returning to their work, conversations resuming at normal volume.
Torvyn appeared at my shoulder, his voice low. "That was leadership."
"That was necessity," I said. "Now let's figure out where we can actually go."