I felt Mack’s fear that something had gone terribly wrong, that we were being hailed by Odyssey or GalPol because we’d been found in breach of a law we hadn’t known about, or something. Whatever it was, we made it to the control room in double-quick time.
Tens was waiting for us, when we got there, but the big surprise was that Delight was waiting for us, too. She turned to look at us, as we rushed through the door, eyebrows arched, and one hand on her hip.
“Took you long enough,” she said, and Mack closed his mouth on whatever he’d been about to say.
It was a silence that Tens hurried to fill.
“I have a call on hold from the Clan Corovan,” he said. “Delight is here as Odyssey’s representative. She will observe and advise in Odyssey’s interest.”
‘In Odyssey’s interest’, I thought. Not her own interest, or anybody else’s. Well, this would be curious to see. Delight was not impressed.
“Shut it, Cutter.”
I’d forgotten that she could see into my head, and I shut, looking to Mack for some kind of a clue as to what I was supposed to be doing next.
“Watch and learn,” Mack said, and moved to take the position he had held when speaking with Lord Skymander.
Delight stepped up beside him, and Tens moved to flank her. I followed Mack, standing next to him as I’d done with the previous call. Once we were all in position, Tens allowed the screen to go live.
“I’m sorry for the delay,” he replied, lying smoothly. “The captain was on another call, and Odyssey insisted on having its representative present.”
“How did they even know we were calling?” the Corovani lord challenged, and I saw it was not Andreus.
“They did not know you were calling, now,” Tens explained. “They only knew you would, and left orders in place.”
“Orders?”
“We are under contract.”
The Corovani snorted.
“Several contracts, if my information is correct,” he said.
Mack cleared his throat.
“Our contracts are not your business,” he said.
“They are, when you are in breach of them.”
“Are you referring to the contract we held with Lord Andreus Corovan?”
“A contract with one of us is a contract with all.”
“Those terms were not in this contract,” Mack said. “This contract was made while we were under duress; it was made under false pretenses; and”—Mack held up his hand to still the Corovani’s protest—“and Lord Andreus did not have the permission of either the Corovans, or Clan Hazerna, to make it. He was not acting in anyone’s interests, but his own, as dictated by the arach.”
Up until the point that he said arach, Mack had been facing a very angry lord. At mention of the star-faring spider race, the lord froze.
“Arach?”
“Yes, my lord. The arach. They had manipulated Andreus into acting for their interests.”
There was the sound of hurried footsteps in the background of the Lord Corovan’s call, and he looked off-screen, his eyes widening at whatever he saw. He had just time to turn back to the screen and say “Please, help us,” before the call ended in darkness.
“On it,” Delight said, and then glared at Tens. “You need to release the teleport lock,” she said. “I promise I will not take the Lady Melari from this ship.”
Tens hesitated, and then nodded.
“Done,” he said, and Delight disappeared in an all-too-familiar silver glow.
Tens said nothing, after she had gone, but stood still, staring into space for several minutes. Mack waited until the comms specialist had finished whatever it was he was doing through his implant, and I waited, too. I even took a leaf out of Mack’s book, and didn’t say a word.
“Is Melari still on board?” Mack asked, when Tens blinked.
“Yes.”
“Did they try?”
And Tens smiled a very satisfied smile.
“Oh, yes.”
Mack mirrored Tens’ expression, and took his place behind the captain’s console.
“Case,” he said, “you’re needed on deck.”
He turned to me.
“Can you do navigation?”
“Some.”
“It’ll be enough for this. I’ll have Case and Tens keep a half eye on what you’re doing.”
I nodded, and slid into the seat he indicated, wondering why he didn’t call up his navigator.
“It’s early.”
For that matter, I wondered where the standing watch were. No ship left its command center unattended in flight.
“I stood them down. I needed privacy for that last call.”
Man had an answer for everything.
“It is my ship.”
Again, with the slight emphasis on ‘my’. Anyone would have thought the man had a hard-on for the Shady Marie.
“Shut it, Cutter.”
Tens snickered, but the laughter was gone and his face was a perfect blank, when Mack snapped his head towards him.
Case came on deck, shortly after. She hurried over and seated herself behind her console.
“Where to, boss?”
Mack rattled off a string of coordinates, and Case slipped the flight helmet over her head, and got to flying. I felt the drives power up in a fraction of the time I was used to, and wondered what she was doing. Mack explained.
“We’re in a hurry, Cutter. No time for niceties.”
“We’re not going back to the station?”
“We’re taking the long way around. Find out where we are, and plan us some contingencies. I’m calling Skymander. Case, get the crew in their pods.”
Pods?
“Ride might get bumpy.”
Not what I wanted to hear.
35—Delivery
With the ship moving swiftly towards the furthest warp point, Mack put a second call through to Skymander. He flagged it urgent, but none of us quite expected the image that came on screen, when Skymander answered.
The lord was not in the lounge he usually took calls in. In fact, I couldn’t tell where he was. It looked like he was standing in a doorway, with his back to a much larger room. He was also far from his well-groomed norm. His hair was in wild disarray, his jacket buttoned oddly, and he was breathing heavily as though he’d just run a race... or fought a battle.
“My lord, are you okay?” Mack asked, and Skymander blushed.
“Fine,” he said in a tone that discouraged
