The Star Pirate's Return

Chapter 1: Overboard

"Did you see, Darlena? We've just received permission from the Director. We can open the gate now."

"Already? We shouldn't make contact yet, Simon."

"Why not? That's the whole point of this."

"Please. Not yet. Let's hold off a little longer, watch how things play out. Once they know about us, it changes everything. I don't want to interfere yet."

"We interfere across the galaxy every day, Darlena. Lux is just one more group of colonists."

"You can't be serious. This is where it all started. They've been out here without contact longer than any of the others. Haven't you been watching with me? Don't you admire them?"

"I wouldn't call it admiration."

"Respect, at least. They had the courage to throw off the yoke, even if it meant hurling themselves into the wind. And still, here they are."

"Irresponsible. How many are dead because of them? These people triggered the Interstellar War. Such loss of life can't possibly be justified."

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed—"

"Oh, don't start with that again."

***

Bee drifted in space above the asteroid and watched the galaxy turn from inside the safety of her armored nullsuit. Her home was out there somewhere in the star-strewn darkness. Numb with disbelief, Bee searched the scattered ocean of distant lights in front of her and tried to guess where Surface might be. The brightest, closest star she recognized as Lux—but its glow was a fraction of what she saw from Surface. Against the shimmering backdrop of the galactic core, Bee pinched Lux between two fingers and snuffed it out.

"Do you think anyone will find us out here, Myra?"

"The Leith Belt is still largely unexplored and inaccessible via gate travel from the Core," the Myra clone said in her ear. "Chances are low. Would you like me to specify?"

"Not if I'm going to regret asking."

"Understood."

Bee twisted her body around to see the wreck of Starhawk's warship Deep Fog on the pitch-black asteroid below her. Pieces of the craft littered the area near the gate with debris, not that she could see much against the intense black of the asteroid. If she let her eyes lose focus, it just looked like a whole chunk of stars had gone missing. Bee brought the suit's guidance up on her visor and it flagged all the floating scrap between her and the ship.

She missed the real Myra. The stripped-down clone of the AI installed in her suit had been a massive help—but the real Myra was a friend. Maybe her only friend.

"Bring me back inside." Bee let the suit take over completely and it moved for her, using pulses from the gravity nodes to lead her in a swift, sure dance through the chaos of the wreck. The remains of Deep Fog's bow, beheaded on its way through the gate, had a neat, angled slice across the entire width of the ship. Many sections were completely exposed to the vacuum of space. The only sealed area left was the infirmary, a small room nestled in the heart of the ship's ruins. Even then, Deep Fog had long since lost its oxygen supply. The only reason she and Starhawk hadn't suffocated already was because of their suits.

How long had it been, Bee wondered, since they came through the gate? A day? Two? Days didn't mean anything without a night to judge them by. She knew she could ask Myra, but didn't bother. It didn't matter. Her suit had water and emergency rations—the protein paste she'd eaten aboard Wanderlust—but she hadn't eaten any of it. Thinking of Captain Anson and the rest filled her with regret. Bee betrayed them. Myra betrayed them. That was how she'd left things.