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Time seemed to crawl by before the Varnish flew into view. It circled the station a few times, before finding the best port to dock. Stag opened coms, allowing them to listen in as his crew boarded the station.
“It’s dark,” Hellion whispered. “Too quiet.”
“Weapons ready,” Stag ordered.
“We should have brought Maze,” Veller muttered.
“Shut it,” Stag snapped. “Our medic gets too emotional when he sees a lot of bodies. I’m counting at least sixteen dead in the main corridor. Both stationers and pirates,” Stag whispered. “Check each body and do a count on both civilians and pirates. Make sure we don’t have any Markus Models among them. That’s who they reported attacked them. Maybe pirates came afterward?”
“On it,” Kelis acknowledged.
“Fuck.” Hellion sounded angry. “I see evidence they were fighting hand-to-hand and with blades. Someone must have discharged a power disrupter.” He paused. “This laser rifle is fried.”
“I’m seeing the same thing,” Kelis agreed. “This pirate has an ear implant and the side of his head is showing burn marks around it.”
“It must have been the station’s security that fired the disrupter. They had to have been desperate,” Stag concluded. “Look at how well-armed the pirates were. I’m counting three laser weapons on this asshole. They’re newer models, too.”
Sky frowned. That wasn’t common, either. Pirates tended to attack transports to steal cargo but new weapon shipments were heavily guarded. He reached forward and opened coms. “Are you certain they are pirates?”
Onyx shot him a look but didn’t try to stop him from talking to Stag’s crew.
Veller answered. “Absolutely positive. Some of the dead have hair loss and skin issues. The shape and size of them are all wrong to be Markus Models. A body I just checked had seven fingers.”
“We read four life signs,” Teg reminded them. “What are you picking up on the station?”
“Four,” Stag confirmed. “We’re tracking them now but checking each body we pass. We’ve found over thirty dead. They were definitely not androids. It seems the residents rushed out of the living and work areas to fight and tried to block them from reaching their control center.”
“That’s where the life signs are coming from,” Hellion whispered. “All four.”
“Moving forward. Lock down coms. We don’t want them to hear us coming.”
Sky silenced communications on their side at Stag’s command and straightened, crossing his arms over his chest. He wished he could see what was going on instead of having to listen to it.
Long minutes passed—then weapons fire sounded.
No one spoke over the coms until Stag yelled. “Keep them alive!”
“Fuck,” Hellion gasped. “They just turned on each other!”
Sky was pretty sure the growl that sounded came from Stag. Another minute passed.
“They just shot each other. All four are dead,” Stag informed Sky and his crew. “Head shots.”
Onyx turned on their side of coms again. “Why would they do that?”
Stag didn’t answer right away, and when he did, his voice held an icy tone. “I don’t know, but… You’ve got to see them to understand. Contact the Star. We’re going to need to meet up with them. They have a full medical facility to do scans. We’re bagging the bodies of these four to take with us. I want the medics to take a closer look at these bastards. Something is different about them.”
Sky leaned forward. “What’s going on, Stag?”
Stag sighed. “These four are wearing matching uniforms…and they don’t smell.”
“Are they station security?”
“Fuck no,” the Varnish’s captain spat. “Pirates. One hundred percent certain. They were also removing the station’s main computer from the casing and preparing to transport it. But…the other pirates weren’t in uniforms. Just these four. Then they killed each other to avoid being captured. Everything about this is odd and alarming.”
Sky frowned. “What kind of uniforms are they wearing?”
“Not ones I’ve seen before,” Stag replied. “The fact that they are wearing matching outfits that resemble a uniform is strange.”
Sky agreed. Pirates also weren’t known to sacrifice their own lives for any reason. Most pirates weren’t rational enough to realize the odds weren’t in their favor if outnumbered in battle. When caught, they usually tried to escape. The less-crazy pirates sometimes surrendered.
It really bothered Sky to know they had been removing the station’s main computer. It didn’t make sense. They were large, difficult to move, and would be useless for trading. No existing station would buy or trade for it.
Then he got a sick feeling…
What if the pirates were building a station?
But how? Surely it was beyond their capabilities. They couldn’t even properly repair their aging ships.
He met Onyx’s confused expression and shrugged. “I’ve got no idea what to make of that. I’m an expert on humans. And not messed-up ones who’ve suffered brain and physical damage from years of radiation exposure. Perhaps they were stupid enough to think it was valuable? It’s definitely out of character, though. They go for food supplies, easily tradable electronics, and women when they attack.”
“I’m contacting our council now to let them know what’s happened.” Onyx opened coms.
Ten minutes and a few coms later, they had new orders from the council. They were going to escort the Varnish to meet up with the Star. Everyone was alarmed and confused by what had happened on that station.
Sky was ordered to transfer ships once they met up with the larger vessel. He hurried back to his quarters and, as soon as the door opened, Mick threw herself into his arms. He held her close and kissed the top of her head.
“I told you not to worry.”
“What happened?”
“Something very confusing. We’ll figure it out, though.”
Chapter Nine
Sky hugged his friend as soon as they left the Bridden and entered the Star.
“I’m your welcoming committee.” Mavo gave a formal nod to Mick. “It’s nice to meet you, Sky’s wife.”
“Please call me Mick,” she offered.
“Her full name is Mickayla Caroboll but she likes it shortened.” Sky took her hand in his. “Who is in charge?”
“Flint. He and Steel traded off recently.” Mavo sighed. “It’s put him in a foul mood. He left his wife and child on Garden. We all hoped we’d find the Markus Models by now.”
The news wasn’t a surprise to Sky; everyone was under a lot of pressure. Still, he winced because he knew Flint hated to be away from his family. “I’m surprised he agreed to leave them on Garden.”
“Space has become too dangerous. He wasn’t willing to risk their safety. He’d like you to contact every station and vessel located anywhere near that attack to see if you can find out anything. Why Markus Models were reported when we captured pirates.”
Sky understood Flint’s worries. “It might have just been paranoia. My wife said her supervisor had been warning her about the Markus Models. Maybe they just saw the incoming attack and assumed.”
“Maybe.” He shook his head. “I just wish we could find and destroy them once and for all.”
“Why is everyone so concerned with these androids? I mean, I get that they’re dangerous, but they’ve been attacking Earth stations and vessels, right? Have they attacked you?”
Sky held Mick’s gaze. “They want to locate Garden and trade us to EG, in exchange for all their models created in factories on Earth.”
“Wouldn’t it just be easier if you were to destroy the factories, rather than go on a full-scale search for those three ships they have? The Markus Models can’t trade you for something that doesn’t exist anymore. Space is huge. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.” Mick arched her eyebrows, peer up at him.
Sky gave her a small smile. “I like the way y
“Not to mention, it would be near impossible for cyborgs to breach Earth without humans believing we were attacking them. Earth Government surely thinks we’d do so in retaliation for their capturing one of our cyborgs recently. We were able to retrieve him, but any attack, even one on a factory, would cause widespread panic and fear among humans.” Mavo led them to one of the lifts. “I’ll escort you to your quarters.”
“Earth Government arrested a cyborg?”
Sky answered Mick’s question. “A cyborg named Zorus was captured, taken to Earth, but he escaped. We paid someone on Earth to help him. It would have been extremely difficult for us to get one of our own teams down to the surface. Mavo is right. They would have mistaken it for an attack on the people. Zorus is the only verified existing cyborg, as far as EG knows. He told them he was the last of our kind when questioned. They probably didn’t believe him but they can’t prove otherwise. We’d like to keep it that way. They’re already paranoid we’ll go to war with them.”
“Because they’re a bunch of dumbasses,” she muttered.
Sky laughed. “Yes.”
“I like her.” Mavo grinned, but quickly sobered. “Flint is expecting you to go directly to the coms room after you drop off your bags. Just take my advice and don’t antagonize him. He’s been in a foul mood.” He lowered his voice. “You didn’t hear this from me, but Mira is pregnant again. He wants to get back to her badly.”
“Understood.” Sky kept hold of the two mission bags he carried with his and items he’d grabbed for Mick. “That’s exciting news, though.”
Mavo chuckled as he led them to the officer’s section of the Star, accessing one of the quarters. “It is. This one has been assigned to you during your visit. It’s far roomier than what you had on the Bridden.”
“Thanks.” Sky entered first, the lights automatically coming on.
“It was really nice to meet you,” Mick murmured.
Sky dumped the bags on the floor and gripped her arm. “We’re not staying. Let’s get to coms.”
Mavo opened his mouth, closed it, before opening it again. “You’re taking her with you? I don’t believe that would be a good idea.”
“She’s my wife, and she’s also an expert on Earth. I’m not going to leave her alone while I’m making com calls. She’ll be bored shitless.”
“I don’t think Flint will approve.”
“I don’t give a damn. I’m here to a do a job, and he can suck it if he doesn’t like her working with me.” Sky smiled, tugging Mick back out into the corridor with him. “We’ll be in coms.”
“Suck what?”
Sky glanced back to see Mavo’s confused expression. “My dick. It’s an Earth saying. I wouldn’t repeat that to him. It’s an insult. Tell him I was ordered by the council to keep my wife close to my side at all times. I’m just following orders!”
Mick softly snorted. “I’m starting to see a pattern with you.”
“Really? What kind?”
“You have a problem with authority and do things to get into trouble at any opportunity.”
Sky released her arm and lightly swatted Mick’s ass. “And you married me. You must like trouble.”
That earned him a laugh from her as they reached the lift. They went down two floors and exited into a long hallway. “Coms station is up ahead. We have satellites that will bounce the signals to each other to confuse anyone trying to track where we broadcast from.”
“I thought only EG could do that.”
“That’s the beauty of it. We locate all the malfunctioning or nonoperational satellites they abandon in space, fix them, reprogram them for our use, and those idiots believe they just magically came back online. They don’t realize they now belong to us. We also hacked into a few new ones, too. EG has a strong military force closer to Earth, but only minor military presence in the outer regions. Most of them aren’t tech-savvy enough to realize what we’ve done, and we’ve installed sensors to let us know if anyone tampers with them.” He slapped his palm on the entry into the communications center and the doors opened. He grinned when he saw who waited inside.
“Sky!” Hoover jumped up from his seat. “My male!”
Sky chuckled. “It’s my man. Close.” He nodded at Tweak. “What’s up?”
Both cyborgs zeroed in on Mick, and Sky’s good humor took a slight dive when he saw their immediately interest. “This is my wife—and I don’t share. So don’t even think about it. I’ll break your jaws if either of you try to sweet talk my Mick into giving you a chance to prove your worthiness. Got it? I’m it for her.”
Mick nodded at his side, offering the cyborgs an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I don’t want more than one husband.”
“We’re here to work.” Sky pulled out a chair for his wife, then sat next to Mick and ran his fingers over the keys of the monitor in front of him.
“What are you going to do?”
He paused, glancing at her. “I’ll talk to people near where the attack happened, try to be friendly enough for them to gossip to gain information. It was reported as a Markus Model attack but it turned out to be pirates. They might have been spotted in that area. I’ll try to find out. I also pay close attention to their tones, to gauge if they’re being honest. I want you to listen in and give me your opinion.” He tapped on the screen in front of her. “If you can think of a question you feel I should ask while I talk, or have something to say, type it here for me to read. We’ll work together as a team. I’m the voice.” He winked. “You’re the brains.”
She nodded. “Got it.”
He went back to work, connected to their hidden satellite system to hide his outgoing signal location, and sent a transmission to the station closest to where the attack had happened. A man answered, and Sky used his friendliest tone of voice.
Mick was impressed. Sky pretended to be a freighter pilot as he made friends with the Bing Station coms guy, Joe. They discussed everything from being bored, to the shittier aspects of their jobs, and finally got around to the attack. She listened as Joe explained how horrible it had been, realizing how close the Markus Models had been to his station.
“Seeing where that distress signal originated from was scary as fuck. They’re less than a day from us. The Zippo Station was newer than ours. We’d break apart if we tried to make a run for it. I was told those Markus Models are flying around in some new, high-grade military ships. Do you think they’re well-armed?”
“Shit. Probably. I’d be toast, too,” Sky murmured. “I’m a sector out from you. I have my eye on my radar and can’t sleep. I’m worried I’ll see a ship show up within range. This wreck is twenty-five years old and the thrusters on engine three keep crapping out.”
“What are you hauling? Or is it classified?”
“Classified,” Sky answered. “But I can’t see what we have in our cargo holds as being something they’d need. These things are skin droids. I figure they want to kill for food or maybe more electronics. I haul for a mining company. Not supplies, but the materials they’ve dug up. That’s all I can say. It’s raw material that nobody can use without it going through a factory on Earth first.”
Mick typed, confused why they were talking as if actual Markus Models had attacked when it had really been pirates.
Sky typed out a response fast. She read it, nodding. No one else knew it had been pirates, since the Varnish and Bridden were still the only ships to have gone to the damaged station so far.
“Yes. Fucking EG.” Joe paused. “Um, I didn’t mean that. Please don’t report me.”
“No problem. I’m with you, man. They shouldn’t have made those things. It’s like we don’t have enough shit to deal wi
Joe made a nervous laugh. “Exactly.”
“Have you heard of any other sightings besides this last one?”
Joe hesitated for long seconds. “Not about those freaky machines…but I heard a rumor.”
“Yeah? What’s that? It’s boring as shit out here. I love some good gossip.”
“I talk to the coms operator on the Creekton. It’s a station in the next sector. He said a supply shuttle that left them reported seeing dozens of pirate ships clustered by some moon. He said the pilot was terrified they’d come after him, but they didn’t. He flew the hell out of there fast but wanted the station to know, in case they were gearing up for an attack. There’re some colonies in that system.”
Mick studied Sky’s face. He looked grim as he spoke but he hid it in his voice. “Wow. That’s something. I’ve heard reports about that shit, too.”
“The pirates have been acting strange. Everyone is talking about them banning together to make allied attacks. It wasn’t too bad before, and they didn’t fuck with most stations. Now? Maybe we need to worry about them more. It makes me almost miss Earth.” Joe laughed. “Almost.”
“I don’t think anything would get me to live there again.” Sky turned his head and motioned to Tweak. The man rose from his seat and left.
Mick typed a question mark on her screen. Sky motioned for her to wait.
“Hey, Joe. It’s been good talking to you, but I’ve got to wake some of my crew. I want them to work on thruster three again, just in case we run into those skin jobs or pirates. You take care and keep an eye on your radar, man.”
“Good talking to you, Sky. Watch your radar, too.”
“Like a hawk. Do you have escape shuttles, just in case?”
Joe hesitated. “Not enough to go around. You know how it is. I may as well kiss my ass goodbye if we’re attacked. Only the higher-ups are going to get seats on those jumpers.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Take care.” Sky cut coms and twisted in his seat.