Tobias Buckell - Ragamuffin

Someone rapped on the hull of the Toucan Too . Kara looked around, wondering what to do. Nashara had left without saying anything; Ijjy lay sedated, eyes drooping.

The banging intensified.

Cascabel appeared in front of Kara. “Nashara didn’t tell you what was going on, did she?”

“No.” Kara was getting her head around the Cascabel/Nashara divide.

“There are friends at the air lock, they want to pick up you, your brother, and Ijjy and take them to get medical help.”

“But what about the attacks?”

“The Xamayca Pride is going to act as a flagship, it won’t directly join the fighting. From there they will also be able to transfer you out by tender to the other Ragamuffin hiding places in the system. It will be the safest place for you. There’s no room for you in the ship that’s going back right now, but there will be on a second trip, and you can join Ijjy and Jared there.”

Ijjy looked up. “I ain’t going. Let the girl go.”

“Ijjy, you are no shape to stay on. She’ll be fine here until the Cornell West returns for the second run, or we can drop her off ourselves when Nashara comes back from the grounation.”

Kara nodded. “Ijjy, please, get yourself looked at.” She could wait easily enough.

“You sure?” Ijjy looked at her.

“Very sure.” She really, really wanted to go with Jared. But Ijjy had risked his life for her and been hurt as a result. She could not let him stay here.

“Okay then.” Cascabel walked over to Ijjy. Since everything was weightless, it was odd to watch her stepping along the cockpit as if it had gravity. It just made the fact the Cascabel was a simulation hit home. “I’m going let the Raga in, okay?”

Kara nodded again, pleased to be included. Distant machinery whined, and the sound of boots clanked through the ship.

“Hello?” A heavily muscled man with silver eyes leaned into the cockpit. “I’m Dr. Aiken.”

“Hi.” Kara released her grip on the chair and floated over to Ijjy. “This is Ijjy, and my brother, Jared, is in another room. They both need to go with you.”

“Okay.” Two more men hung behind him, and a pair of women.

Ijjy coasted out toward them, and one of the men split off, towing Ijjy out toward the air lock.

The women both carried large machine guns, and they stared at Kara with silvered eyes that reflected and flashed light back at her.

Kara led them down to the room. “Is it safe to take him out of the pod?”

“No.” Dr. Aiken drifted over, looking at the pod. “Too dangerous.”

He nodded his head, and they moved to release the pod.

“Its battery life should keep everything going until we get back aboard the Xamayca . Fluids are low, almost out, but we can compensate.”

Once they’d pulled it free, they held the pod between them, quickly shepherding it out toward the lock. Kara followed closely and at the lock put her hand on the surface, looking down at Jared.

She’d be back with him soon.

It would be okay, she silently promised him.

She snagged the edge of the air lock and stopped drifting with the group.

“We’ll take good care of him,” the doctor said, turning to face her as one of the Ragamuffins fired compressed air from a waistpack to speed them onward. They seemed in a hurry.

The air lock sealed shut, and Cascabel stood upside down on the roof behind Kara, startling Kara as she turned.

“We need to get back to the cockpit and strapped in.”

“What’s going on?”

“Incoming missiles.” Cascabel saw the look on Kara’s face. “Jared will be fine. The missiles will head for us, the West will be clear and headed for the Xamayca long before they are a problem.”

Relief. Kara followed Cascabel back.

“How long do we have?”

“Minutes now. And the Cornell West is clear and accelerating.” Cascabel cocked her head. “Okay, Monifa says we won’t get any direct hits near docking, they’re chaffing the area pretty hard to draw the missiles away.”

Distant shivers and thuds made their way through the Toucan Too ’s hull. “That was still bad, though,” Kara said. “If we can feel it.”

Cascabel moved to touch Kara’s shoulder, then pulled her hand back as her fingertips slipped through, instead of resting on, Kara. “We’re evacuating it all. And the captains here are calling for us to start attacking back.”

The thuds continued.

“That was close,” Kara said.

“Yeah.”

“Nashara—wait, I’m sorry, Cascabel—be honest. Are you worried?”

“Flying through the remains of this thing when it falls apart will be messy. The attack will be messy. But I think it’s our best chance.”

Another near strike loosened some debris that softly struck the left side of the Toucan Too .

But Cascabel said she wasn’t worried. And Kara was going to do her best not to as well.

The Wuxing Hao , which Etsudo suspected of being taken over by Nashara, had passed well beneath them on a tighter, lower orbit. It didn’t seem concerned with him at all.

He then watched it climb into a higher orbit, letting the upstream wormhole and its cloud of chaff and drones and Hongguo ships catch up to it. Now it was ducking and weaving its way toward the wormhole, explosions blossoming around it.

The Ragamuffin ship behind the Wuxing Hao , however, was concerned with him. The Magadog fired its first missile spread now that it had gotten within range. Once again, it called for Etsudo to slow down for it or be destroyed.

Etsudo drummed his fingers, checking simulations in the lamina, and realizing the cold truth. “I think I may have put us in a bad spot,” he said.

His crew didn’t say anything back. Bahul, Fabiyan, Michiko, and Brandon all looked at him as if not quite hearing what he was saying.

Etsudo continued, “I’m going to stop accelerating and let you all get out in pods. Fire your emergency beacons. I’ll continue running. I know some of you might wait to light up your beacons until Ragamuffins rescue you, I understand that. I know Hongguo might try, but remember, most likely they’ll wipe your minds. Just keep that thought before you light up.”

He cut thrust and watched the missiles gain.

Bahul floated over and shook his hand. “Be safe, Captain. Be safe.” Then he kicked off with Michiko and Fabiyan, who did not even look back.

Etsudo remained strapped in and shut his eyes. He watched the deadly points of light that represented a certain death get closer.

The Takara Bune shook as the pods left and streaked away.

Brandon came back and strapped in.

“You’re staying?” Etsudo looked over, disappointed. Of all his crew, he did not need Brandon aboard.

“You think it so easy to betray the Hongguo.” Brandon settled in. “You tried to get rid of those who would keep an eye of what you are about to do.”

“Three minutes to impact,” Etsudo said.

Brandon leaned his head back against the rest, which molded itself around his head. “You’re going to hand her the ship?”

“Who else will call the Ragamuffins off?”

“And will you be able to regain control?” Brandon asked.

“No, she’s too good.” In a way it was a relief. Soon Brandon would know his secret, and Nashara would be able to spread it all over. “Bit-based SOS with our ship’s lights, that was something else.”

“Do you think they’ll kill us?”

“I don’t know.” Etsudo looked at Brandon. He didn’t have time to try to get him off the ship. Whatever happened next, happened. Brandon was bucking the changes Etsudo had made and would soon cause trouble.