Ayan could see the stone faced facade that Jake wore so well was settling back into place, but took great comfort in the new assurance that she could call the man she wanted to know back when she wanted him, when she needed him.
Things got worse as the crowd of equipment stripped deserters grew. They stood waiting for transport to arrive, with the few things they could take with them from the Triton, a survival package with contained three days worth of meal replacement bars, water, an ultra-thin cot, a basic communicator and a dual purpose cutting tool plus fire starter. Ayan and Jake moved so they could stand within ten meters of the space they were handing out the coins and she found herself looking for Leland March and Edward Sherman, the worst of the trouble makers.
She was still scanning the line when Laura surprised her from behind with a fervent hug. They had been friends for years, and seeing her intact, in person was an incredible comfort. 'God, you wouldn't believe the mess that ship is in. I'm sure its being held together with sealant tape and hull filler. Scratch that, we ran out of hull filler and started using deck sheeting,' Laura told her with a chuckle.
Ayan squeezed her playfully. 'It's so good to see you, I'm sorry if it seemed I had reservations about Minh checking after the Triton. I didn't mean to come off like-'
'Don't worry, I know you want to see Jason and Oz back here as much as I do, but you don’t want to lose someone else. I live with an intelligence agent, remember? If anyone understands the necessity for economical personnel use, it's the wife of a spook.'
'You know, I never thought that would rub off on you,' Ayan smiled.
'This'll come back on you, Captain,' spat someone as they passed by as they flashed their hundred gram coin. The hate etched on his face was intense as he regarded Jake, obviously the person the dissenter thought was responsible for all his problems. Ayan faintly recalled that he was one of the crew members they'd rescued from Pandem and had to stop herself from shaking her head. 'Would you rather we left you behind Verain?' Ayan asked.
'White doesn't suit you, you should all be wearing red. Blood red,' he told her, his cold green eyes looking straight into hers.
'If you want to stay for better days, we'll give you your comm unit and put you in the other line. Otherwise, get ready for pickup,' Jake snapped as he whirled on the older man.
'How many do you think are left?' asked Laura as the older fellow moved on.
'Crewcast says there are still six hundred thirty connected to the network.' Ayan replied. “I’m pretty sure Chief Vega disconnected everyone who stepped into the deserter line.”
'I did,' Stephanie confirmed curtly.
'Good thinking, Chief,' Ayan said with a slight smile.
The only acknowledgement was a solemn nod as she watched one of her people hand the next person in line a coin from the emptying ammunition crate.
'I hope that's not all Jake has,' Laura said quietly.
'It's one of four cases.'
'That's not much for eight hundred people.'
'I know. Hopefully we can pick up a privateering licence and do some easy privateering. I'll be visiting the governor's office as soon as I can.'
'When?'
'I was thinking Jake could call in another transport for me and a security team when he calls for their ship. So in about forty minutes.'
'That quick?' Laura asked, surprised.
'There's no point in waiting. The sooner we get-' Ayan’s eye caught Leland March and Edward Sherman then and she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
'What?' Laura asked as Ayan regarded her with astonishment.
'Those two, Leland and Edward, they started this whole scene.'
Laura turned to face the pair, who where chatting quietly, but enthusiastically. 'And now they're in the loyal line.'
'I'd bet what's left of the Samson that Leland was the one who showed the passengers where my emergency funds are kept,' Jake added in over the private comm.
“This might not be the time to bring this up, but those two were part of a group that started a fire in a Botanical Gallery apartment before we abandoned ship.”
“Now is the perfect time to bring it up,” Jacob said, not letting the outrage he must have been feeling creep into his stony expression. “But if I haul them off the line and strap them to the nose of the Samson right now, it won’t help anything. They’ll get what’s coming to them.”
Ayan wasn’t aware he was listening in, but wasn't surprised considering how quickly things were happening. 'What do you want to do?'
'I'll put Leland to work, same with his new friend. If I get the time I'll make sure to have a conversation with them one on one.'
'Don't do anything you'll regret, Jacob,' Ayan whispered so only Laura could overhear.
'With people like March there's no need. He'll crap himself the instant he realizes I've got him alone. As for the other one, I'll get Stephanie to talk to him. If I take the time to do it personally he'll just feel that he's even more important.'
'Why don't you get Alaka to do it? If you're going further down the chain, you may as well use the anchor.'
Jake chuckled ruefully. 'What I'd give to be a fly on the wall. Good idea. It's not like Steph isn't busy as it is.'
Ayan's tactical alarm went off. Every officer’s command and control unit notified them that there were several armed ships coming in from the northwest. 'Lewis, can you scan them?'
'They are Carthan customs vessels, five in total. I'm reading over five hundred small arms and it looks like they're made for quick boarding or deployment action. They should break cloud cover shortly.'
'Thank you Lewis. Do you think we should get everyone back on the ships Jake?'
'No, we're going to continue as we are. They are probably coming to inspect us and have a word.'
'Have you ever dealt with anything like this?' asked Laura.
'The Samson has been inspected by customs more times than I can count. The big problem we have here are all the people looking for refugee status. We'll have to keep them calm and make sure the customs officials can get their terms to everyone, otherwise this could get bad fast. Ayan, you'll have to do the talking. The Carthans may not want us, but I'd still rather not let on that there are Samson crew here unless we absolutely have to.'
'All right, everyone who was on the Samson crew, cover up,' Stephanie ordered. Everyone who served on the Samson activated their armoured vacsuit hood and made their faceplates opaque. After a moment she added; 'Too conspicuous. Okay, everyone in security and wearing armour, cover up.'
'Good thinking, Chief,' Jake said. 'March! Cover up!'
Ayan looked to where Leland was still having a lively discussion with Edward and saw that his comm unit was blinking, but he was paying no attention.
The five eighty meter long ships broke through the crowd cover behind him, they were less than a kilometre away and slowing their quick descent. The heavy rain ran off the edges of their green and grey armoured hulls as they drifted downward in a precise formation. They would come down all around them.
'Bloody idiot,' Stephanie muttered, heard by everyone on the command and security channels. Ayan watched her stride purposefully towards Leland, who didn't notice until she was within two meters. As soon as he did, he flinched visibly, momentarily trying to put several people between himself and the Security Chief. 'Seal up your suit and black out your faceplate you git! Look! Custom's ships are coming!' She pointed exaggeratedly.
It was as though he was the last to notice, and he may as well have been, since the low rumbling sound of their antigravity emitters were just kicking in and the air was stirred by a slight vibration. The high pitched hiss of the rain around the ships being pressed at speed by the nearest vessel's antigravity systems filled the air. It was unlike anything Ayan had ever heard, and she was thankful that it lessened as their ship landed.
Stephanie shook her head as March simply gawked at the nearest ship, not bothering to close his faceplate. She irritably activated it for him using her command unit and went back to stand with a small group of similarly clad
