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jeriendhal“Lady Margo,” Ali said slowly, feeling her stomach turn to lead. “What do you want?”
“There's quite a question,” Lady Margo replied cheerily. “What does anyone want? Love, life, money, power, and maybe your ears and tail mounted in my trophy case. That sound good for a start?”
“Let me speak to Lady Sallivera.”
“Mmm, let me think that over. No.”
“Let me speak to her, so I know she's alive,” Ali said tightly. She hated Margo's whimsical cheerfulness, for it could turn to rage without warning. At least if she was already angry Ali would have known better how to deal with her.
“Tell you what,” Margo said sweetly. “Why don't I pop out her good eye and send it to you for a DNA sample, so you know I really have her?”
“You hurt her, there isn't any place on this whole damned planet where I won't hunt you down and skin you,” Ali snarled. “Now let me see her!”
“Temper, temper, little Ali-Kat. I've got my hostage. You want to keep her alive, you'll do what I tell you to. I get one hint that you're pulling something, I'll stick the barrel of my plasma pistol in her big fuzzy ear and bake her brains.”
“What do you want?” Ali asked again, trying rein her temper in. She needed to be calm, for Salli. She dared not put the noblevixen at risk.
“I want a clear com channel to my fleet, so I can send for a pick up for me and my boys, and no interference from whatever Foxen navy ship sent down that drop shuttle that was sitting at your spaceport.”
“One moment while I discuss this,” Ali said, for Blacksailor was making desperate cut the channel gestures at her.
“Don't take too long,” Margo replied.
Ali muted the com channel and asked pointedly, “What?”
“We can't let her take Lady Sallivera,” he said.
“No shit we can't let her take Lady Sallivera,” Ali shot back. “Any other brilliant suggestions?”
“One question first. Do you think that, given a chance, Margo would sell out the pirates that are with her for a sure-fire chance to escape?”
“In a heartbeat,” she answered without hesitation.
Blacksailor nodded. “All right then, let me speak to her.”
“You're kidding.”
“Ali, please trust me.”
She was silently for a long moment, then gave Blacksailor the briefest of nods before handing over her comset.
“Lady Margo, this is Lt. Commander Blacksailor of the Patrol,” he crisply. “I'd like to make an offer to you in return for Lady Sallivera's safe release.”
“Ah, so that was a Patrol singleship that we spotted at the spaceport. I would have grabbed it if I'd had time to override its security coding,” Margo replied.
“I'm willing to give it to you, in return for Lady Sallivera.”
What? Ali mouthed to him in astonishment.
“Bullshit,” Margo replied.
“I'm not joking,” he said firmly, back and tail stiff. “It can only accommodate a single pilot, and perhaps a passenger if you don't mind some cramping, but it'll take you wherever you want to go, and it's fast enough to outrun any possible pursuit, including the fighters aboard the destroyer in orbit. I'll give you the security codes to get in and then you give back Lady Sallivera.”
“A very tempting offer, Commander. Won't your superiors be angry with you, for letting such an infamous pirate get away?”
“Yes,” he admitted, “but given the political uproar that would occur on Foxen Prime against the Patrol for letting a Countess' heir be kidnapped and murdered by a pirate, I think they'll be willing to swallow it eventually.”
“Very well, you have a deal,” Margo purred.
“One condition though: I want to see Lady Sallivera, so we know she's alive.”
“Fair enough,” Margo agreed. On Ali's spectacle display, the video feed from Lady Sallivera's pilfered comset switched on. It spun around dizzily, displaying the cabin of a military grade skimmer, similar to the one Lady Sallivera had stolen from Margo's base when she'd rescued Ali so many months ago. The camera's view tilted downward, showing the body of Lady Salli lying on the deck of the skimmer's cargo section, bound in plastic cables, her muzzle wrapped in duct tape. She looked unconscious but alive, her head rolling to one side to show...
Ali sucked in a furious breath, as the view closed in on Salli's face. Where the black lens of Salli's artificial eye had once sat, there was now an empty hole, the edges of the socket bleeding from it being forced out. “What in all the Cold and Dark did you do that for?” she almost screamed.
“Oh, that,” Margo chuckled. “Cameras are odd things. You never know whom they're transmitting to. Now, if you want to make sure that she doesn't need her left eye replaced as well, I suggest you and the commander get your tails in gear. Just you two. Otherwise you can say goodbye to your lady.”
“You're a monster,” Ali growled.
Margo just laughed again. “I'm a monster? Did you ever tell your lady what you did when you were under my command? You sure as hell haven't told that Patroller, otherwise you'd be dead by now. Just think about that Ali. And get that ship prepped for me, eh? I think you know where to bring it.” Then the signal was cut off, leaving Ali panting with fury and anguish.
“What did she mean by that last remark?” Blacksailor demanded. “Does she seriously think you've done anything worse than her?”
“Yes,” she answered, regaining her breath.
“Why?”
“Because I have.”
TBC
“There's quite a question,” Lady Margo replied cheerily. “What does anyone want? Love, life, money, power, and maybe your ears and tail mounted in my trophy case. That sound good for a start?”
“Let me speak to Lady Sallivera.”
“Mmm, let me think that over. No.”
“Let me speak to her, so I know she's alive,” Ali said tightly. She hated Margo's whimsical cheerfulness, for it could turn to rage without warning. At least if she was already angry Ali would have known better how to deal with her.
“Tell you what,” Margo said sweetly. “Why don't I pop out her good eye and send it to you for a DNA sample, so you know I really have her?”
“You hurt her, there isn't any place on this whole damned planet where I won't hunt you down and skin you,” Ali snarled. “Now let me see her!”
“Temper, temper, little Ali-Kat. I've got my hostage. You want to keep her alive, you'll do what I tell you to. I get one hint that you're pulling something, I'll stick the barrel of my plasma pistol in her big fuzzy ear and bake her brains.”
“What do you want?” Ali asked again, trying rein her temper in. She needed to be calm, for Salli. She dared not put the noblevixen at risk.
“I want a clear com channel to my fleet, so I can send for a pick up for me and my boys, and no interference from whatever Foxen navy ship sent down that drop shuttle that was sitting at your spaceport.”
“One moment while I discuss this,” Ali said, for Blacksailor was making desperate cut the channel gestures at her.
“Don't take too long,” Margo replied.
Ali muted the com channel and asked pointedly, “What?”
“We can't let her take Lady Sallivera,” he said.
“No shit we can't let her take Lady Sallivera,” Ali shot back. “Any other brilliant suggestions?”
“One question first. Do you think that, given a chance, Margo would sell out the pirates that are with her for a sure-fire chance to escape?”
“In a heartbeat,” she answered without hesitation.
Blacksailor nodded. “All right then, let me speak to her.”
“You're kidding.”
“Ali, please trust me.”
She was silently for a long moment, then gave Blacksailor the briefest of nods before handing over her comset.
“Lady Margo, this is Lt. Commander Blacksailor of the Patrol,” he crisply. “I'd like to make an offer to you in return for Lady Sallivera's safe release.”
“Ah, so that was a Patrol singleship that we spotted at the spaceport. I would have grabbed it if I'd had time to override its security coding,” Margo replied.
“I'm willing to give it to you, in return for Lady Sallivera.”
What? Ali mouthed to him in astonishment.
“Bullshit,” Margo replied.
“I'm not joking,” he said firmly, back and tail stiff. “It can only accommodate a single pilot, and perhaps a passenger if you don't mind some cramping, but it'll take you wherever you want to go, and it's fast enough to outrun any possible pursuit, including the fighters aboard the destroyer in orbit. I'll give you the security codes to get in and then you give back Lady Sallivera.”
“A very tempting offer, Commander. Won't your superiors be angry with you, for letting such an infamous pirate get away?”
“Yes,” he admitted, “but given the political uproar that would occur on Foxen Prime against the Patrol for letting a Countess' heir be kidnapped and murdered by a pirate, I think they'll be willing to swallow it eventually.”
“Very well, you have a deal,” Margo purred.
“One condition though: I want to see Lady Sallivera, so we know she's alive.”
“Fair enough,” Margo agreed. On Ali's spectacle display, the video feed from Lady Sallivera's pilfered comset switched on. It spun around dizzily, displaying the cabin of a military grade skimmer, similar to the one Lady Sallivera had stolen from Margo's base when she'd rescued Ali so many months ago. The camera's view tilted downward, showing the body of Lady Salli lying on the deck of the skimmer's cargo section, bound in plastic cables, her muzzle wrapped in duct tape. She looked unconscious but alive, her head rolling to one side to show...
Ali sucked in a furious breath, as the view closed in on Salli's face. Where the black lens of Salli's artificial eye had once sat, there was now an empty hole, the edges of the socket bleeding from it being forced out. “What in all the Cold and Dark did you do that for?” she almost screamed.
“Oh, that,” Margo chuckled. “Cameras are odd things. You never know whom they're transmitting to. Now, if you want to make sure that she doesn't need her left eye replaced as well, I suggest you and the commander get your tails in gear. Just you two. Otherwise you can say goodbye to your lady.”
“You're a monster,” Ali growled.
Margo just laughed again. “I'm a monster? Did you ever tell your lady what you did when you were under my command? You sure as hell haven't told that Patroller, otherwise you'd be dead by now. Just think about that Ali. And get that ship prepped for me, eh? I think you know where to bring it.” Then the signal was cut off, leaving Ali panting with fury and anguish.
“What did she mean by that last remark?” Blacksailor demanded. “Does she seriously think you've done anything worse than her?”
“Yes,” she answered, regaining her breath.
“Why?”
“Because I have.”
TBC
no subject
Date: 2014-01-14 09:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-14 10:05 am (UTC)