The Fringe Wars

1.6

Dangerous Discoveries

Three days later, the Gryphon broke free from Playa's atmosphere and cruised into the smooth blackness of space, where Reyne could usually find some semblance of peace. Only this time, their current run weighed heavily on his mind.

"I can't believe we're going to the Space Coast," Throttle said, not even trying to hide the excitement in her voice. "I've never been in a real asteroid belt before. Is it as dangerous as they say?"

He reined himself in from his thoughts. "Worse, and it's not because of the asteroids. The rocks move slowly. They're easy to miss. The danger with asteroid belts is what they hide. Once you enter the Coast, you have to keep one eye on the lookout for asteroids and the other eye on the lookout for pirates."

She rubbed her hands together. "I can handle that."

Reyne smiled. "I know you can, but rest up. I want you at the top of your game when we enter the Coast. There's a reason even the CUF won't go near there."

"The ship's running better than ever," she said. "Flight plan shows we'll reach Nova Colony in twenty-six hours."

"Good," he said, unbuckling from his seat and crossing the bridge. "I want to get this deal over with. Keep running diagnostics. Vym didn't repair the Gryphon out of the goodness of her heart. She's got something up her sleeve."

He headed down the hallway to the commons to find Boden, Doc, and Sixx snacking from a bowl of raisins.

"Taking a break already?" Reyne asked.

"We've searched the ship," Sixx said. "We didn't find anything."

Reyne rubbed his neck. "There's no way Vym fixed the ship without leaving her grubby prints somewhere on it. Keep searching."

"We were thorough," Doc said. "We've scoured the cargo bay and went through every cabinet. If she's smuggling something, we're not going to find it without taking the ship apart piece by piece."

Reyne grabbed a handful of raisins from the bowl. "Then, you need to start taking it apart piece by piece."

Her jaw dropped. "You can't possibly want us to open every panel."

"That's exactly what I want. I need to know what she's having us smuggle for her before we get to Nova Colony."

The crew in the room let out a collective groan.

"Sure thing, boss. We'll get started on finding that needle in a haystack...right after break, of course." Sixx popped a raisin in his mouth. "So, fill us in. Who's this mysterious contact Vym is having you meet at Nova Colony?"

"Some man by the name of Critch," Boden offered before digging out a handful of raisins.

Reyne glared at his mechanic, but it was already too late. By the look of Doc's blanched face, she remembered that name all too well.

"We're going to Nova Colony to see Critch?" she asked softly.

"No, we're going to Nova Colony, where I'm going to see Critch. You're all staying on the ship," Reyne replied.

"That's a suicide mission," she countered.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Reyne chewed on his raisins.

"Who's Critch?" Sixx asked.

"He's a pirate," Doc said, narrowing her eyes in a sideways glance directed at Reyne. "A very dangerous pirate."

"Psh," Sixx said. "Pirates are overrated."

"He captains the Honorless," she added.

"Oh." Sixx's eyes widened, and he turned to Reyne. "Doc's right. It's a suicide mission. Why aren't we running the other way?"

Finding his stomach suddenly without appetite, Reyne threw his remaining raisins back into the bowl. As he strode from the commons, he heard Doc begin a tale he had no desire to hear again.

"Critch is more than a pirate," Doc continued. "You know the story that Reyne was one of the two torrent marshals at the Siege of Terra during the Uprising. You've also heard how Reyne disappeared just before the Battle of Broken Mountain, leaving behind an inexperienced marshal half his age?"

"Of course," Sixx said. "Everyone's heard that story, but anyone who's ever met Reyne wouldn't believe it for a minute."

"Well, Critch was that other marshal."

Reyne picked up his pace back to the bridge so that he could no longer hear the crew's conversation.

"Hey," Throttle said. "I was just going to ping you."

Relieved for the distraction, he headed over to her. "What'd you find?"

"I don't know yet, but Vym has definitely put something on the ship. I've been running the numbers against our power usage. We're running heavier."

He frowned. "How much heavier?"

"It's significant. If I'm reading this right, we're carrying a few hundred extra kilograms."

"Show me."

Her fingers flew over the instrument panel until the list of weight-and-balance calculations were brought to the forefront. He ran his finger down each line item until he came to the variance.

"Four hundred and twenty-nine kilos. It can't be." A shiver climbed his spine, and he found himself lightheaded. He grabbed ahold of the panel's edge.

"What is it?" she asked.

He took a deep breath. "The Gryphon used to weigh a bit more in her early days. Four hundred and twenty-nine extra kilos, to be exact."

He had to see the truth for himself. He hustled to his seat and ran through the menus.

"Reyne?"

He watched as a series of green lights came to life. Lines of text began to scroll.

"Reyne, seriously. What the hell's going on?"

Without looking up, he pointed in her direction. "Language."

She let out an exasperated sigh, but he read the text over and over before he believed it wasn't some error.

"That can't be right."

Reyne jerked around to find that Throttle had rolled up next to him and was reading the screen.

She pointed to the text. "Tell me that can't be right."

He read through the seven lines one more time.

Phase Cannon: Operational and Armed.

Photon Gun One: Operational and Armed.

Photon Gun Two: Operational and Armed.

Photon Gun Three: Operational and Armed.

Photon Gun Four: Operational and Armed.

Photon Gun Five: Operational and Armed.

Photon Gun Six: Operational and Armed.

"Why would Vym arm the Gryphon?" she asked.

He took a deep breath. "My guess? Vym never gave up hope on the Uprising, and she's pulling us into her torrent army, whether we volunteer or not."

After a moment, Throttle's lips curled upward. "It's about viggin' time."