Adventures Gone Awry
When Reyne and Sixx reached the Gryphon's ramp, Sixx froze.
Reyne motioned to the ship. "Come on. The faster we get off this rock, the safer we'll be."
"I'm not going."
"What?"
"I've got to find that girl who knows about Qelle."
Reyne pursed his lips. "I don't know the game Lincoln is playing, but you can't believe anything he says. I can guarantee that he'll make sure you won't get any additional information, not without his chubby hands in the way."
Sixx snarled. "In my gut, I've always known Qelle was alive. Now, to think she's been a slave on Myr all this time?"
"You don't know that."
"It's the only lead I've got. I have to follow it. I'm sorry, boss." He turned to walk away.
"No, Jeyde. I'm sorry," Reyne said. He grabbed Sixx by the shoulder and swung. His fist connected solidly with Sixx's cheek, and the man collapsed. He'd never seen the blow coming. Reyne dragged him up the Gryphon's ramp, to his quarters, and dropped him on his bed.
Reyne entered his captain override code to lock Sixx in his quarters, and headed to the bridge. He strapped in without looking at Throttle. "Get us out of here."
"Hey, Throttle. It's great to see you. I knew you'd be worried since we were gone a few hours and patrols kept cruising by," she rattled off in a low-pitched voice.
"I'll fill you in after we launch," Reyne said.
"Fine." She went through her takeoff procedures and launched from Devil Town's space docks.
From the bridge, he could hear the pounding on Sixx's door.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Throttle asked.
"Sixx isn't too happy with me right now," Reyne replied.
"Why?"
"I punched him." Then he went through the series of events that had transpired in Devil Town.
After he finished his story, Throttle leaned back. "Poor Sixx. Do you trust Lincoln?"
Reyne looked up from the scans he'd been running. "Never. A man doesn't become stationmaster of the largest fringe station without playing both sides. Even so, I believe he was honest about the information with the Space Coast. There was nothing for him to gain by sharing that information, but it could save lives. That's assuming the colonists out there aren't too hardheaded to evacuate."
"What about Sixx's wife?"
He ran a hand through his gray hair. "I don't know. It doesn't make any sense. Her transport ship reported a cat fail—catastrophic failure—but the ship and crew were never recovered. While it's possible she survived and was picked up by a Myrad crew, the odds would be low since nothing was ever reported."
"But it is possible." Throttle blew out a breath. "No wonder he's all torn up inside. I'm worried about him."
"I am, too." Reyne looked down at his bruised knuckles. "I am, too."
"Well, let's see if he's come to his senses." He tapped a command to unlock Sixx's door. Immediately, the pounding stopped, and he heard running down the hallway.
Sixx stormed onto the bridge. His hair was disheveled, and a bruise was forming under his eye. "You son of a bitch. You can't force me to not look for my wife. It's my wife we're talking about!"
"Hate me all you want, but I did it for your own good," Reyne snapped back. "Lincoln was maneuvering you into some kind of position that was clearly for his benefit. You're just too blind to see it right now."
His instrument panel chimed. "What now?" He read the caller ID and frowned. "I'm getting a call from the Honorless."
"We're supposed to be in radio silence," Throttle said. "We're only to break it in case of an emergency."
He glanced back at Sixx. "This will have to wait."
Sixx was clearly fuming but chose to bite his tongue, lean against the wall, and cross his arms over his chest rather than to continue their argument. He dramatically motioned to Reyne to take the call.
Reyne connected, and Birk's copper-haired visage appeared on the monitor.
"Hello, captain," Birk said with his usual quiet nonchalance.
"What's going on?" Reyne snapped.
The younger man's brows rose before he replied. "We've run into a situation on Terra. Since you're the nearest to Terra right now—"
"Just lay it out there."
"Yes, captain. Critch and Chutt left to go to the stationhouse at Rebus Station. They haven't returned yet, and they're not answering their comms."
"How long ago was that?"
"Twenty-two hours. Their trackers showed them arriving at the stationhouse, but they went offline right after that."
"Shit." Reyne grimaced. "All right. We're heading your way now. Send me your coordinates. We'll be there in..." He glanced at Throttle.
"A little over eleven hours," she said.
"I heard her. Hi, Throttle. How are you?"
"Hey, Birk," she replied with a smile.
"I have the new shocks for your chair. I'll get them to you when you get here."
"Thanks, Birk. You're the best."
Reyne frowned. "Is that all?"
"I've also notified the specters," he continued. "The Winter Wind and Nighthawk are both within three days from here."
"Tell them to hang back for now," Reyne said. "More ships lingering around a single planet means it'll be harder to avoid detection. For all we know, Ausyar has set up a trap for us down there and is using Critch for bait. Let the specters know that we'll keep them updated."
"Will do," Birk said.
"See you soon," Reyne said.
"Oh, be sure to stay on the dark side of Terra," Birk added. "There's a CUF warship performing maneuvers on the light side."
"Understood," Reyne said, and he clicked off his comm.
He spun in his seat to face Throttle.
"Change of plans?" she asked.
"Change of plans," he answered. "It looks like we're not heading back to Playa yet after all."
"I'll need to drop us out of jump speed to change course."
"Do what you need to do."
Throttle broadcast to the engine room. "Hey, Boden. We're dropping from jump speed and then going right back into it. So hold on for the next few minutes. I don't want you to bruise your shin like last time."
"What's going on?" came Boden's response.
"We're going to Terra," she replied.
"Oh. Okay," Boden replied.
Reyne turned back to Sixx, who was still glaring at him. He pointed to Sixx's swollen eye. "I'm sorry about that. Lincoln clearly has something planned for you, and I was trying to stop you from walking into that weasel's trap. Now, I give you my word that after we resolve this situation on Terra, finding Qelle will be this crew's highest priority. I will do everything in my power to help you find Qelle. Is that fair enough?"
"Don't forget me," Throttle added. "We're all in this together."
Sixx didn't take his eyes off Reyne. After an unbearable silence, he gritted out, "Fair enough." He took his seat and buckled in. "That doesn't change the fact that you were an asshole back there."
Reyne nodded and pointed to his own cheek. "You can take one free swing at me. Any time, any place. Will that make us equal?"
Sixx's eye twitched. "I don't hit old guys."
The corner of Reyne's lip curled.
"I haven't been back to Terra in a long time," Throttle said.
"Well, it should make for an interesting visit," Reyne said. "It's the one place in the entire Collective that wants me dead more than the CUF wants me dead."