|
Chapter Eighteen “What the hell are
you doing here?” Glann frowned as Jan turned away and strode to the
window, his fists clenched tightly into white, blood-drained balls. He thumped the window frame and leaned his
forehead onto the cool glass. It
helped. “We
assumed the Sunrise team had been
eliminated on Janos. We’d heard
nothing from you for days. I had to do something, so I took the Mannack’s Renown out of storage and
left Amagad.” Jan spun around. “Do you
have any idea what we’ve been
through?” Glann shrugged.
“Obviously not.” Lomona looked at Terrie for some assistance but
she gave none. She was seated in a
nearby chair next to Armella, both watching the display with detached
interest. Armella’s masseur Breia stood near to the doorway, blaster on her
hip. Across the room stood Feese,
weapon at the ready. Jan shoved his
hands onto his hips and glared at the floor, breathing deeply. This
was the last thing I expected. To travel
for all this time, dodging blasters and women across half the galaxy… And arrive to find Glann Cipple waiting. It beggared belief. I
should know better, thought Jan. Nothing’s ever easy. Glann tried to smile.
“Captain, I can understand your anger - “ “ - oh can you - “ “ - but
I don’t have time for it. We have a
job to finish and we are going to do it.
Now sit down and be quiet.” Jan gritted his teeth and took a step towards
Cipple. Upon seeing Feese raise his
Blaster Jan thought better of it and sat next to Terrie. She slipped him a smile as he sat but he
was too riled to notice. Glann took
the remaining seat and eased into it.
Armella stood, now wearing an ankle length, figure hugging
crushed-blue dress, and walked towards the far end of the room. As she reached it she turned to the
others. “Please,
follow me.” Jan glanced at the others and stood, following
Terrie out of the room. Armella led
them to a door that opened into a narrow grey corridor. As Armella entered it illuminated, revealing
a fifty-metre stretch to another doorway.
In silence they walked, reaching the door. Armella decoded the lock and the door swung upwards into a
computer-laden room. Once inside the
door closed and air-sealed. Jan
caught the intrigued face of Cipple, who nodded an acknowledgement to Jan. Lomona half-smiled back. Glann’s
right, now isn't the time for arguments. I’ll bawl him out later. “This
room is D’Staan’s operations centre.
From here, all interests are run, checked and siphoned. And it’s from here that the runs into the
Core are orchestrated.” Armella
looked flatly at Glann. “There is much we need to discuss. For the moment I think it would be better
if we spoke alone.” She tilted her
head towards Jan. “No offence.” Jan chewed his lip and loudly breathed in through
his nose. Oh, what the hell. “None take-
“ “Captain
Lomona will be present.” Jan, Feese and Terrie all shot looks at Glann, for
varying reasons. “I sent
him here to complete a mission. He
has yet to complete it.” Glann turned
away from Armella to look at Jan who nodded appreciatively. “Thanks
Glann.” “Thank
me when we get back to Amagad.” Smiling at Terrie and winking at Feese Jan,
preceded by Glann and Armella stepped into another side room and secured the
door. “….and
then there was the time we landed on Tintatell for refuelling.” “What
happened?” Paige placed her chin in
her hands and leaned forward to listen.
Frans smiled. “Well,
we’d been having a rough time of it, profits were down, so Glann decided to
send Jan out to rustle up some new jobs.
Jan knows a lot of people and well, he called a few favours.” Paige smiled. “What
kind of favours?” Frans leaned back. “Oh,
various things. Jan ran for other
people in the past. No questions
asked kind of stuff.” “I get it.” Paige smiled again.
“What you don’t know can’t hurt you.”
Frans nodded, unsure of quite what Paige was
getting at. “I guess
so.” Frans picked up her cup of Chav
and sipped from it. “How do you feel about things?” Paige shook her head. “What do
you mean?” Frans smiled. “I think
you know exactly what I mean.” Paige raised her eyebrows and grinned.
“Yeah….I’m a kid, I’m supposed to be vague.” She paused as she brushed another strand of long hair from her
cheek. “I feel fine.” Frans stood and moved next to Paige on the
acceleration seats. Paige looked up
at her as she sat, Frans bunching her long red hair behind her and crossing
her legs. “This
must be really hard for you. Not
knowing how you stand with Jan.” Paige frowned sadly. “I’ll
manage. If he doesn’t accept me then
it’s his loss.” Frans nodded. “You’re
right, it would be.” She scooped her
hair back again. “Saying that, I
think he’s got used to you being around.
I know I have.” Paige grinned. “Thanks. I like it here, I feel welcome.” “You are
welcome. As long as you want to be
here, that’s fine by me.” “And
Jan?” Frans breathed in deeply, gazing into her Chav. “Jan’s
going to have to stand up to his responsibilities. I don’t just mean
you. We’ve got things to sort out as
well.” Paige shuffled closer to Frans on the couch. “We had
noticed.” Frans looked down at Paige, a quizzical look on
her face. “We?”
Paige nodded. “Me and
Terrie. And Aurran.” Frans smiled.
Even old Aurran? “That obvious huh?”
“Yeah. I’m used to bad
atmosphere’s. Mom and her boyfriends
were always arguing. I guess that’s
where I get my independent streak from.”
“Not
entirely.” Frans glanced at a photo
on the far wall of herself and Jan taken years ago, back on A-desando. He’d carried it on all of his ships. “What was your Mother like?” “She was
cool. She let me have my own
space. She said that someday I’d have
to be independent, look out for myself. She was quite old to be a
mother. I think I was a surprise.” “But not a mistake.” Added Frans. Paige shrugged. “Some
people might think so.” Frans frowned and uncrossed her legs. “Don’t ever say that. He’s shocked, of course he’s shocked. You turning up like this from out of
nowhere would surprise anyone. But a
mistake? Never.” Frans wrapped an arm around Paige’s
shoulder and shook her softly.
“You’re a blessing. He just
doesn’t know it yet.” “I’ll
believe it when he tells me himself.
Until then I’m just killing time.”
They both fell silent, the Sunrise humming away on standby.
Aurran stomped by, carrying a basket of washing to the Laundromat down
the stairwell. He’d come from the
hold where Gimo was assisting him with a spot of welding and washing. Frans and Paige watched him until he was
out of sight. “What
happened to your Mother?” Paige looked up at
Frans. “ - no,
it’s not a problem.” She took a deep,
cleansing breath. “We found out three
years ago that she had Evitarr syndrome.
It’s a neural disease that affects the memory centre of the
brain. So, while she was living her
life and doing her everyday routine, her mind was erasing itself. First, the short-term memory went. She’d forget customers names, faces,
prices. Then her mid-term memory
began to go.” “How was
she diagnosed?” Frans whispered. The thought of losing all those memories,
all those cherished times. Memories make us the people we are. “I made
her go to the Medic. She’d known him
four or five years by then, but when I took her in it was as if she’d never
know him at all. That’s what did it
really. He referred her to another
specialist who diagnosed Evitarr syndrome.” “Was
there a treatment, any procedures to slow it down?” Paige’s forehead creased as tears welled up in her
ocean-blue eyes. Sorrowfully she
shook her head.
“No. There’s no cure or
treatment. I took her home to look
after her. She’d had to pack the bar
work in, there was no way she could manage any more. I cared for her as the symptoms got
worse. Pretty soon her memory had
gone so bad she could barely remember who I was anymore.” She sniffed. “It was then that she told me about Jan.” Frans squeezed her shoulders again. “How did
she tell you?” Paige smiled, wiping her eyes with the back of her
hand. “She
said they’d met in a bar, she couldn’t remember where. Jan was only young then, about seventeen,
eighteen. She said he came into the
bar and got into a fight with some old spacer. Something about stealing a run off somebody.” “Sounds
about right.” Smiled Frans. Paige continued. “Anyway,
they chatted. Apparently Jan was
quite a charmer. They had a fun
evening together and….he left the next morning.” Frans finished her Chav. “I take
it your Mom was older than him?” Paige nodded, sniffing again. “Oh
yeah, she was almost fifty then.” Frans turned her head to glance at the photo of
herself and Jan together. Fifty?
So much for the charms of the younger woman. “But she
was beautiful. I’ve got a photo of
her in my quarters. Would you like to
see it?” Frans nodded. “Very
much.” They both stood and walked towards Paige’s
quarters near to the cockpit.
Stepping inside Frans activated the light and Paige retrieved the
creased photo of herself and her Mother from Terrie’s locker. Sliding it out of the plastic cover she
handed it to Frans. Paige was right,
her Mother was a beautiful lady. “What
was her name?” Paige smiled a warm, proud smile.
“Saah. Saah Retgarr. Retgarr was her maiden name.” “Cute
baby. Is that you?” Paige nodded eagerly.
“Yeah. It’s the first picture
I ever had taken. Back when we were
on the Livill Station.” Paige glanced
at Frans who looked sadly at the photo.
“This must be hard for you too.”
Frans looked across the quarters at the young
A-desandian girl. “For
me? Why do you say that?” Paige sat on the edge of the bed. “Knowing
that Jan was….unfaithful to you.
Having to accept me. Lots of things.” How
insightful, thought Frans. How perceptive. She was her Fathers daughter, but she was
equally her Mothers daughter as well.
Frans sat on the opposite side of the bed. “I’ve
known Jan for a long time, since we were just kids. I knew what he was like before we began seeing each other, but
it didn’t stop me from wanting to be with him.” “You
like a challenge?” Frans grinned. Jan Lomona was certainly a
challenge.
“Something like that. You’ll
meet someone one day, and just by looking at them you’ll know they’re the
one. It only happens once. But when it does, no one else will ever
compare.” Paige shook her head. “That
sounds pretty final.” “It
is. But there’s nothing you can do
about it.” She sighed. “We became a couple and started going out
with each other. Oh, it’s a long
story.” Frans waved it away with a
smile. “We’ve been through everything
and we’re still together.” Paige frowned. “But why
do you stay with him? Now that you
know he’s my Dad?” Frans took her hand and squeezed it tightly. “Because
I love him. As much as you want to
find Jan as a Father, I don’t want to lose him as a lover. So whichever way you want to look at it,
we both need him.” Paige grinned. “Guess
that makes us kind of crazy?” Frans raised her eyebrows in agreement. “I’d say
so.” “So,
when do we see D’Staan?” Jan shifted in his chair and rubbed his hands
together. They’d been here for an
hour, discussing trade routes and dry business facts. Little of it concerned Lomona except for
the details of runs he’d done near to the Core, of which there were few. Successful but scant. He looked from Glann to Armella, who still
looked fantastically beautiful and intriguingly familiar. Where
the hell do I know her from? “All in good time Jan.” Interceded Glann. “When D’Staan’s ready to see us, he’ll see
us. Isn’t that right Armella.” Glann smiled at the woman as she stood
from her chair and stepped over to the workstation. Taking a deep breath she shook her head and turned around. Jan caught the troubled look in Glanns eyes. Something’s
wrong.
“Captain,” She addressed Jan directly. Lomona swallowed and cocked his head in
reply. What have I done wrong now?
“Armella?” “You’ve
travelled many light-years to get here.
Battled hard, fought bravely.
Lost friends and gained enemies.”
Jan glanced at Glann again, but his visage gave no
clues. He nodded. “I guess
so. I haven’t exactly spent the last
four weeks looking over my shoulder to find out. We’ve been running too hard.”
He frowned. “Why do you
ask?” She altered her stance. “If I
told you, both of you, that your journeys may have been for nothing, what
would you say?” Glann gritted his teeth behind closed lips as Jan
himself stood to his feet. What is she saying? “I’d say
that Dessio D’Staan has a twisted sense of humour.” Jan moved away from the chair towards Armella. “I’d say that he’d better have a damn good
reason for wasting our time like this.”
Armella almost imperceptibly nudged backwards. “Why?
Have we been wasting our
time?” She raised her eyebrow and returned to her
seat. Glann breathed out a tired and
weary breath.
“Armella. Captain Lomona has travelled a long way to deal with
D’Staan. Made many sacrifices. So have I. For the last time, when do we speak to him?” Armella crossed her legs, revealing a shapely
split of thigh, and laced her fingers. “You
already have.” Glann frowned. “What do
you mean?” “I am D’Staan.” Jan exchanged an incredulous glance with
Glann. This is D’Staan? Jan
shook his head in disbelief. D’Staan
was Glanns age. This woman didn’t
look a day over twenty. “Sex
change?” Armella smiled but neither man returned it. It didn’t feel like a laughing matter.
“Hardly. Dessio D’Staan died
seven years ago.” Glann leaned forward, a frown creasing his
face. The soft sheen of sweat
reflecting the soft light of the room. “What
was the cause of his death?” “Cancer
of the lung. That Hookah he insisted
on smoking was the death of him, just
like he always knew it would be.
After his death we pretended he was still alive, that he had secluded himself from all
society. Gone to an island somewhere
remote. Since that day, for all
intents and purposes, I became
Dessio D’Staan.” Jan shook his head in confusion. “Why
you? Why not one of his long-standing
aides?” Armella smiled. “Because
Captain, I’m his daughter. Armella D’Staan.” Lomona noticed Glanns frown from the edge of his
vision. Armella didn’t, and turned towards
the computer to her left. The screen
revealed the contents of a will.
D'Staan's will. “My
father left many instructions in his will.
All have been carried out, except for his final wish. Which concerned
you.” She looked directly at Glann. His emotionless face remained solid,
impassive. Jan tried to follow the silent interplay between
the two of them but failed to read it.
She still seems damn familiar… “As
D’Staan’s daughter you are aware of the history between the two of us. The unfortunate way in which our
partnership was ended.” Armella nodded. “It was
one of my Fathers greatest regrets.
That he never had the chance to correct his deception face to
face. His final wish was to redress
the balance.” Lomona swung his leg onto his knee. This
could be interesting. Jan probed.
“How? Everyone’s heard stories
about what your Father did across his partners. It’s practically smuggling legend back in the Setnin Sector. What could you possibly do to put right
what was done before you were born?” Armella frowned despite herself and activated the
computer. “Even
though my Father has been dead for seven years it was his wish that you be
contacted on the anniversary of his deceit.
Twenty years after he double-crossed you and travelled to the Core, I
contacted you. The message you
received was written by Dessio sometime before his death. I merely relayed it to you.” Glann nodded. “The
letter-search mentioned details of a business deal concerning the Core
run. What are those details?” Jan wiped his palms against the black of his
jeans. He’d dressed sombrely. His usual bright wardrobe seemed out of
place here on rainy Abrogard. Armella scrolled through the screen display. “It is a lengthy document, detailing many rules and
stipulations - “ “ - then
give us the abbreviated version.”
Interjected Jan impatiently. Armella took a short, sharp breath and
continued. Jan caught the glare from
Glann. Oh come on Glann, he thought. You knew what to expect when you invited
me in here. Too late to cry about it now. “Dessio
D’Staan wished for you to take control of the Core run. Stretching from the Rim, through the
Setnin Sector and the Mid-Rim and up to the Verlence Sector. He wanted you to take control of it, effective
immediately.” She flicked off the
computer with an air of resignation and lowered her gaze to the plush
floor. Glann looked at Jan, a smile teasing his lips and
stood to approach Armella. Upon
reaching her he offered his hand.
Noticing his shadow she looked up.
“Glann?” Glann tilted his head, gazing down upon her face
with a strange mix of pride and inquisitiveness. Jan scratched his neck.
What the Stang is going on? What next? D’Staan rising from the grave? He admonished himself for the gruesome thought. It’ll
probably happen anyway. Glann turned to Jan.
“Captain. Would you return to the Sunrise
and bring me the box I gave to you?”
He turned back to Armella. “It
contains a rather interesting gift for the D’Staan estate.” Jan stood and moved to the door, pausing
as he did so. “Terrie
has it with her in her shoulder bag.
And Glann?” “Yes
Captain?” Jan grinned a relaxed grin. At last it’s over. Real life
beckons once again. “Is this
the miracle you wanted?” Glann Cipple shook his head and smiled.
“No. But it will do.” Jan closed the door behind him and Cipple waited
for a minute until he was sure that he was alone with Armella. She gazed at him with interest and stood
beside him near the screen, the D’Staan will scrolling upwards. Glann read it for a moment and turned to
her. “This
must be a very sad day for you. A
time of remembrance and sorrow.” “You are
right.” She agreed. “Dessio never forgave himself for cheating
on you and the others. He was an
honourable man, in his own way.” “He
was. Nobody was more surprised by his
betrayal than I.” Glann stopped and
looked down at Armella. “Your
Mother. How is she?” Armella closed her eyes and turned away from
Glann. “I do
not know. She left when I was very
young.” She rubbed the bridge of her
nose. “Mother and Father argued
often. I was too young to understand, but eventually the strain became too
much for her. The marriage
failed.” She turned back to face
Glann. “Another thing that my Father
was ashamed of.” Glann nodded silently and lowered his head. “The Mannacks Renown is yours to
keep.” He whispered quietly, changing
the subject. Armella frowned.
“Why? Surely you’re entitled
to keep it.” Glann smiled, shaking his head. “It was
never mine to keep. When our business
relationship ended, your Father and I spoke a final time through hyperspace
communication channels. We both
realised that one day there would have to be a meeting. That our paths would cross again. The Renown
was the signal, the secret code that would signal that meeting to one
another. Dessio kept a starship
called the Buck Aroo. You have it somewhere, hidden until it
was needed.” Armella nodded
in agreement as the door chime sounded. “The Aroo is hidden in the caves, along the
coast past the edge of the Glades.”
She brushed a flick of hair away from her face. “You and my Father shared many things,
many secrets. It’s ironic. Even though you lost contact twenty years
ago you probably know more about my Father than I do.” Cipple smiled as he opened the door, allowing Jan
to re-enter the room. “That
much is certain. Captain.” Jan handed the box over to Glann and paused by the
doorway. “In this
instance I would appreciate some privacy.”
Lomona acknowledged Glann with a tilt of his head,
admired the curve of Armella’s thigh once again and closed the door behind
him. Aren’t there any ugly women in this galaxy he thought as Terrie
greeted him upon his return to the computer room. No, there
aren’t. “This
box hasn’t been opened for twenty years.
It contains a document of some importance.” Intrigued, Armella stood beside Glann to see the
box open. He turned to look at her
face. “You may
want to sit down.”
“Why?” Glann took her arm. “You’ll
see.” He took the flim from out of
the box. Still crisp and sheen, the
box had been airtight. Fascinated,
Armella took the flim from Glann. Her
eyes widened as she read, and once she finished she closed her eyes and
tilted her head back. Glann joined her on the next seat. “Now do
you understand why D’Staan betrayed me?”
She looked at him, her eyes imploring. “He
betrayed me for you. For his daughter. To build better life for you. But he was working under false
pretences.” She wiped a new tear from the corner of her eye
and read the page again. It can’t be true, it can’t. Twenty years of lies. Twenty years of love. From the wrong people. “You
knew. You knew all the time that I
was your daughter.” She began to sob.
So
many years of deceit. “What
happened? Between you and my
Mother?” Glann looked away. “I was
very much in love. Even though Dessio
and I were great friends there had always been an attraction between your
Mother and myself. But I
resisted. For so long I resisted.” Armella wiped her eyes. “What
happened?” “Dessio
had immersed himself in a deal which took him to the Core Worlds. He was sure it would net us a hefty
profit, and even though it meant leaving his wife alone for months at a time
he threw himself into the job. I
remained behind, taking care of the everyday running of our operations. And, as a loyal friend, I looked after
your Mother.” Armella turned on Glann. “He trusted you.” “With
his life. With his wealth. With his wife. I could protect two of those things for him. I never cheated him, never failed to come
to his aide when he needed me. But resisting
his wife?” Glann shook his head
sorrowfully. “Jeriah was a prize I
couldn’t resist.” Armella wiped her nose on a small handkerchief.
“Why? Why couldn’t you say
no?” She thumped her leg in
anger. “Why couldn’t you be a man and
say `no’?” Glann hunched his shoulders in submission. “If I
knew the answer to that I would be far wiser than I am today.” He smiled wistfully. “We spent one night together.” He
glanced at Armella. “That was how you
came to be.” “Why
didn’t you come back for me?” Glann smiled a warm, open smile and took her hand
gently in his own. “Because
when Dessio left the Setnin Sector I had no idea where he had vanished
to. No trace of his whereabouts. Everyone believed that he had taken off to
the far side of the Rim. You were
born, and a day later Dessio left with you and your Mother, taking all the
details of the Core run with him. The
rest of us were left high and dry. We
had built our operation knowing that we would have increased investment from
the new run. It never came. I was devastated. I’d lost my friend, my business and a
woman I cared deeply for.” He smiled
wanly. “It wasn’t until later that I
found out I’d also lost a daughter.” Armella frowned. “How did
you find out? Apart from the obvious
biological calculations?” Glann smiled. Interesting
way to put it, he thought. “A
letter from your Mother, left for me with a mutual friend, told me you were
my daughter. At first I thought
perhaps your Mother was playing a cruel game, but a DNA test was performed on
you just after you were born. The results were conclusive. There is no doubt - you are my daughter.” Armella leaned forward, tears dripping onto the
flim written in her Mothers handwriting. “But my
Father….Dessio. Did he know? Did he know that he wasn’t my real
Father?” Glann breathed deeply and slowly shrugged his
shoulders. “I do not
know. I never saw him again. We spoke only once after he left and that
was purely business. I never heard
from him again until the letter-search arrived at my Fortress. And I had never seen you….until
today.” Armella handed the flim back to him, rubbing the
salty tears from its surface and broke down into shaking tears. Gingerly at first, then with firmness,
Glann wrapped his arms around his daughter for the first time and held her in
his arms. “I guess
this is it then.” Said Jan, tossing
another Cockon into his mouth and swigging back the last dregs of
Flameout. Terrie grinned, finished her own drink and opened
another. From the edge of the room
Feese looked on in disgust. How sloppy. How unprofessional. How
utterly typical of Lomona to not only disgrace himself in the company of
others but to lead an excellent field agent like Saffra astray as well. Breia, Armella’s masseur stood across from
Feese, hiding a smile with the back of her hand. Terrie swung her legs onto the table and tilted
her chair onto two back legs. “I guess
it is. Where will you go next?” Jan shrugged.
It was a question he got asked a lot. Life on the spacelanes was
unpredictable at best. One day a
spice run to Gista, the next an information gathering mission to
Wennicas. The occasional illegitimate child turning up. But he enjoyed the unpredictability; the
danger of not knowing where the Berone
Sunrise would set down the next day - and what adventures would entail. “Who
knows. It’s a big galaxy. There’s bound to be someone out there
holding a grudge. I’ve just got to
find them and rile them up.” There’s
someone in here holding a grudge, thought Feese to himself as the doorway to
Armella’s secured room opened and Glann entered, followed by Armella. Feese noticed Breia stand to rigid
attention - the woman was far more than just a masseur. Armella gave her a warm glance, their eyes
meeting for a milli-second longer than usual, and pulled from the side of her
dress a long flim scroll. Opening it
on a table she produced a light pen. “All
that remains is to sign the agreement between our operations. D’Staan hands over exclusive Core run
rights to Glann Cipple. In return
Cipple has agreed to open wider dealings with D’Staan, to facilitate a future
merger between the two operations.”
She smiled at the astonished faces of Jan and Terrie. “Captain Lomona.” Jan stood from the table alongside Terrie.
“Armella.” She handed him the light pen. “Would
you do me the honour of signing the agreement between our two
operations?” Jan froze.
Me? he thought. Surely
she means Glann. He looked at his
employer who stood behind Armella, arms crossed, hair scrapped tightly behind
his head, a satisfied smile on his face.
Almost imperceptibly he nodded his consent. Jan grinned. Maybe this trip hasn’t been for nothing after all. With a flourish he signed the space at the
top of the scroll. Armella beamed. “And if
you could just sign here as well.” Jan signed. “And
here.” He signed.
“Here.” This is
giving me cramp, he thought. “And
here, here, here, here and here.” You sly old
Bantha he
thought as he caught the amused expression on Cipples face as he took Terrie
by the arm and led her to the doorway. “Agent
Saffra. Have you ever experienced
Abrogardian cuisine?” She nodded. “I have
actually. But what about Captain
Lomona?” Glann shrugged. “Oh
don’t mind him. He’ll be quite busy
for the next hour. Or three.” Armella pointed again at he scroll. “And
here.” |