The Wench– Ch 8: Battle Lines

Outside the Maiden’s Lament, the blue glow of the sign reflected off of the fresh banks of snow and illuminated the street in an eerie glow. For a moment Hals had a distinct sense of being on another planet, one she’d rather never think about again. She shook her head and down the road, hoping to see Li-Cha waiting for a skimmer. She didn’t see anyone at all, nothing out of the ordinary, except the huge specter of Silver’s Culling disrupting the night’s skyline. And then she heard a muffled yell.

Normally, Hals wouldn’t involve herself in an alleyway scuffle. She’d already gotten into a fight on someone else’s behalf this week, she’d forgotten to reload the Gobbler which meant it only had two or three shots left at most; and besides: it wasn’t her business. Except…

Li-Cha wasn’t standing outside, and there was no telltale dustup in the snow showing that a skimmer had landed. Hals moved as quietly as she could through the snow to the alley next to the Maiden’s Lament, straining hard to hear another noise. She kept her gaze on the ground, grateful for the snow and the hints it gave her. Three sets of footprints, which became chaotic near the mouth of the alley furthest from the tavern. Hals followed.

She reached the corner and heard a muffled blow and a wheeze, and then she heard Jane Neind speaking.

“I heard somebody squealed to a pretty girl with purple eyes. Just my luck I didn’t have to go looking for you: you were right in my tavern. Why are you so interested in my ship, mmm?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Li-Cha spat. “Nobody’s said anything to me about you, and I don’t care about whatever stupid ship you landed with. I-” 

The sound of another blow, and Li-Cha moaned. Hals felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. She pulled the Gobbler out and flicked the safety off. Hals wanted to rush around the corner immediately, but curiosity held her still. If Jane Neind, the number two of Redblink’s crew was roughing someone up for asking questions about their ship, it meant they were hiding something. Hals felt a sense of dread. Li-Cha had been right, but what was their deal? Their secret? Hals knelt in the snow and got as close to the wall as she could, then slowly leaned an eye out. 

She saw Li-Cha kneeling, blood on her lips and face. The man who’d been whispering to Jane Neind was jerking her head back by the hair. In front of her, with her arms crossed, was Jane Neind. She tutted and shook her head.

“No use lying to me, dear. The man holding back your pretty locks has been watching for snoops like you since we landed, and he hasn’t been wrong yet. But, you promise you don’t know anything?”

“I don’t!” Li-Cha insisted. She twisted and looked up at the man holding her by the hair, and Hals saw recognition spread across her face. Hals peered closer at him, but she couldn't make his features out in the dark alley. But presumably Li-Cha’s synthetic eyes could. She knew him.

“You,” she whispered.

“That’s right,” Jane Neind said, nodding slowly. She reached behind her and pulled out a long knife from inside her sleeveless jacket. Hals swung her arm around the corner and shot her.

It was a bad shot, but she had panicked when the knife came out. She didn’t take proper time to aim for the head, which meant Jane Neind’s shields didn’t crack when the Gobbler bolt hit her. Her shields lit up with red lightning as they absorbed the blast. Most of it, anyway: the blue haired pirate still had a smoking hole in her thigh, which made her collapse to one knee. The man holding Li-Cha threw her to one side and reached for the blaster at his hip, and this time Hals did aim carefully, and the blast hit him square in the forehead. But he didn’t fall down dead, as she’d expected: instead, he reeled back, clutching at the burn mark on his face and screaming. His shields were that good? She had no time to waste. She scrambled forward, reaching for Li-Cha.

“Come on!” Hals screamed. She squeezed a third shot off at the pirate captain, but her Gobbler just gurgled, and no laser blast came out. Hals swore. She was out. To her credit, it had only taken Li-Cha a second to realize what was happening. She aimed a kick at Jane Neind as the pirate swiped her dagger at her, kicking the blade into the snow, and then she was running toward Hals. Hals grabbed her hand and together they fled down the snow filled alleyway.

“Hals, it’s the Centurium!” Li-Cha panted as they ran. “That man, I know him. He’s an intelligence officer I used to work with named Nador Leych. If he’s here, the Feudal Queens are involved. We’re royally fucked.”

Hals could hear someone, presumably Leych, running after them. She doubted Jane Neind could run after the shot she’d taken to the leg. “Tell me later, when we’re safe!” Hals said, dragging Li-Cha further into the alleys of Silver Crescent. This part of Adumon Station was where most of the taverns had collected. Hals ran through a group of people standing outside and smoking, knocking two people down in her haste. She ignored the threats and shouts as their feet pounded against the road.

“You don’t understand!” Li-Cha said, nearly stumbling over a hidden bit of trash that had been obscured under a snow drift. “If he’s here, there isn’t anywhere safe! The entire station is in danger. The Centurium is here.”

Hals pulled Li-Cha into the shadow of a large doorway and tried the handle. The door was locked. She looked at Li-Cha. “Where’s your gun?”

“They knocked it out of my hand when they grabbed me,” Li-Cha said. “It’s in the snow near the Lament, somewhere.” 

Li-Cha was gulping down air, and Hals was out of breath too. She spared a glance back down the alley, and was relieved not to see anyone. They were safe, for the moment.

“Think we lost him,” she gasped.

“This is really bad,” Li-Cha said. “Really, really bad.”

“Well yeah, you almost got stabbed,” Hals said. “Jane Neind had a big, nasty looking knife.”

“Hals, listen,” Li-Cha said. “In another life… I was someone who learned secrets. And I worked for the Centurium, and the Feudal Queens. If Naydor Leych is here, that means the Centurium’s very best infiltrator is working with Jane Neind, who is working for Redblink! That ship-- I don’t think he stole it. I think he’s in league with them.”

Hals shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense,” she said. “If they had him caught, they’d just arrest him: or just shoot him and spare themselves the drama of the trial.”

Hals looked over her shoulder, trying to come up with a plan. She needed a weapon or a place to hide; preferably both. Li-Cha grabbed her chin and forced Hals to look at her.

“Listen to me,” she said. “The only way Redblink is worth more to the Feudal Queen alive than dead is if he has something they want. What’s better than one of the Flagged pirate lords on a scaffold in front of their palace?”

“A thousand pirates. Or no… the port they call home. Adumon Station,” Hals said, realization dawning. “They’re here for the station.”

“And for everybody on it,” Li-Cha confirmed. “I know for a fact Adumon Station has been on the Feudal Queen’s radar for a while, but she couldn’t ever take it: the cost of attacking it was too high. But maybe she found a way.”

Hals held up a finger, silencing Li-Cha. She heard footsteps, softly crunching through fallen snow. She held her useless weapon in one hand, clutching to it despite the fact that it wouldn’t fire. Perhaps it would be enough to intimidate with it. Though, judging from the fact that she’d shot him in the head already and he’d managed to survive, she didn’t think so.

Hals peeked around the doorway they were hiding in, but didn’t see anyone. The sound of crunching snow had stopped as well. She held her breath, aware of the rising plumes that she and Li-Cha were releasing due to the cold air. Li-Cha had her hands balled into fists, and she leaned on Hals and looked out with her. Distantly, a few red blasts from a laser soared up into the sky. Maybe a gunfight, but probably just someone celebrating, or showing off. She heard the sound of a woman laughing, a bawdy hawing noise that reminded her of a farm animal from the planet she grew up on. And then something cold slid against the back of her neck.

“Freeze,” the man said. “Both of you, or the little friend eats laser.”

Hals raised her hands, and the man took her Gobbler gently. “Now both of you, stand up and turn around, thanks.” He withdrew slightly, and Hals turned slowly, keeping her hands visible. Her mind raced. How had he gotten behind them? How could they get out of this?

She turned and got a clear view of the man who’d been chasing them. He was unremarkable, not particularly handsome, with dirty black hair and dark eyes. His dark complexion suggested he’d grown up on a planet close to its sun, which narrowed the choices down almost not at all. The blaster in his hand, however, told Hals quite a bit more about him. It was a small thing, barely bigger than her Gobbler, but it was longer and sleek, made out of a metal Hals couldn’t immediately identify. There were two barrels, and the one on the right was shorter and thicker. Since it was pointed right at her nose, she could see it was rifled. Which meant his weapon fired slugs and laser blasts. Versatile, and useful. And very, very expensive. Core world tech.

“Hi, Nador,” Li-Cha said. “You’re quieter than I remember.”

He snorted, but didn’t take his eyes off of Hals. They were hard eyes. They told her he could shoot her without losing a wink of sleep. She focused on breathing slowly, and waiting for Li-Cha to give her an opening. She’d grab for the gun, hopefully get it out of the way before she got shot. 

“Don’t even try it, hero girl,” he said, as if reading her mind. He took another step back, out of arm’s reach. Hals cursed under her breath.

“Nador,” Li-Cha said. “What are you doing here? Working with that pirate?”

“Could ask you the same. I always wondered where you slunk off to, ya know. People guessed you’d gotten tired of the life, settled down with some rich prick and stole a moon from him or something. Didn’t expect to find you here. You’re dead, by the way.”

Hals went cold. She debated charging him, but Li-Cha reached down and squeezed her hand, and didn’t let go. 

“I am, am I?”

“Yeah,” he said, and he pulled the trigger three times. The blasts were purple and blinding, and Hals fell back as they went off, Li-Cha collapsing into her.