Chapter 41

Lucinia took a couple of minutes to steady herself after the call, then pulled out her commpad and made a call to Jack. It only took a moment before he answered.

“Lucy!”

“Jack, I need you to come back to the ship right away. Those of you down there are in imminent danger. In relation to that, I have information to pass on to everyone concerning Kazlaena. I need you here.”

There was a long pause, before Jack replied.

“I need to...”

“I know Jack, I understand. However, you will not find her on the streets. I know who has her. I am ordering you back for everyone’s safety.”

There was another pause, though much shorter this time.

“We’re on our way.”

It took nearly an hour for the security team members to get back up to the Astral Feather. When they did, Lucinia was waiting for them in the airlock.

“Is it Black Nova who has her?” Jack asked with urgency in his voice.

“Yes,” Lucinia put a hand to her mouth briefly. “I received a call.”

“You’re certain of their identities?”

“The caller mentioned being in an organization. That alone could mean little, but when I looked over a still image that I have of the caller’s features, I caught a possible mistake they made.”

Lucinia handed her commpad over to Jack, who saw a masked person in a business suit.

“Look at the lapel pin.” Lucinia instructed.

Jack zoomed in on the pin until the features could be made out. The insignia of Black Nova sat in the center, with three rings below the icon.

“This is someone with significant rank,” Jack’s already pale face seemed to lose more color. “I don’t think forgetting to remove this was a mistake. I don’t think they care to keep secret who they are. The fact they are not hiding their identity speaks volumes of their own confidence.”

“Makes the situation pretty fucking concerning,” Sita looked up to the ceiling and shook her head.

“Ransom?” Cardox asked.

“Twenty mil, within ten days.” Lucinia confirmed.

“Stars-fucking-moons, are you serious?” Sita looked at Lucinia in shock.

“It is not good.” Lucinia made little effort to hide the hurt she felt. “We need to tell everyone though. More than just the crew may be at risk.”

“I assume they warned against involving the authorities?” Cardox remarked.

“If we do, Kazzie will hurt for it,” Lucinia felt nauseous again.

“Ten days, twenty million lucs. Is there possibility in possessing such a sum?” Pri asked with concern, doubting the reality of it.

Jack closed Lucinia’s commpad and handed it over to her, speaking in a resigned tone.

“Even if we pay, she won’t come back to us.”

“Tell’em to fuckin trade her for me!” Sita burst out with emotion when she made her demand. “I’ll fuckin go in her stead.”

“Potential in trade,” Pri reached out and set a hand on Lucinia’s shoulder. “Permit me to go, to trade places. There is possibility they would accept if I were to comply to their desires as pit fighter.”

Jack saw the hurt on Lucinia’s face. She looked to all of them quickly, seeing Cardox motion that he would trade too, if needed. When she looked at Jack, he shook his head.

“Fuck that!” Jack caught them all off guard. “They’re as likely to take any of you too, rather than trade for her. I deeply care about Kazlaena, but I care about you all too. Nobody else is going to put themselves in harm’s way. This is my fuck-up. I played a game with Kazzie and lost, and my task was to convince you...” he looked at Lucinia “ ... to let us go to the surface. I knew better, FUCK!” Jack smashed the wall behind him with the side of his fist, feeling a jolt of pain shoot up his arm.

“We all did.” Cardox spoke quietly, as a child would speak in admitting a wrongdoing. “We’ve been complacent fighting tin cans over the years, never facing any threat of retaliation. I think we all wanted to believe that stealth ship and its crew were something unique, and that was the end of it. Now a kind, innocent soul is paying the price.”

“Make it right, however we can.” Sita said.

“Make it right.” Cardox repeated, seeing the others nod.

“We need to see where everyone stands.” Lucinia told them. “Not to mention, informing the crew of the danger and the gravity of this situation. I will call a ship wide meeting. Go to the rec room as soon as you can.”

Fifteen minutes later, everyone sat or stood in the rec room, speaking in hushed conversations as they tried to assume the intention for the meeting. D-17 was listening to the meeting while managing the ships’ affairs from the bridge. Kyzran was in the engine room, watching a monitor that translated everything spoken to subtitles he could read. Everyone fell silent when Proculus called their attention to Lucinia.

“Kazlaena has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom,” Lucinia started, doing her best to keep her emotions free from her voice. “We are working to get this matter resolved with all urgency, but I request everyone to stay safe and aboard, as well as limiting communication to any outside sources for fear of a current comms breach.”

“Is this Black Nova?” Delilah asked right away, amidst the shocked and astonished gasps among several of the crew.

“We have sufficient evidence to believe so.” Lucinia verified her concerns.

“Our families,” Zakia put her hand to her forehead. “Sorry. My heart feels pain for Kazlaena, but I...” She went silent for a moment. “ ... my children. My family.”

“Valid concerns chief.” Proculus spoke in a re-assuring tone. “We all feel it. This trip...” He refrained from showing anger or frustration. “ ... we need to see this through where we come out safe.”

“Should we notify the authorities?” Delilah asked.

“If Black Nova catches wind we have done so, they will seek retribution. Right now, Kazlaena will bear that retribution first.” Lucinia gave her answer. “We have followed protocol in such an event as an intel breach. That means purging data stacks and setting a backup in a sealed drive hidden from the main system. I have no information on how deep the breach goes, but assume they know everything about any one of us. I would encourage everyone to notify their families so any safeguards can be taken, but we will need to ensure our communication is secure first.”

“What’s to be done fer Kazzie, love?” Charm asked Lucinia.

“I am working on payment to secure her release. I will do my best to see to it there are no more repercussions and this ends between the crew of this vessel and Black Nova.”

“Will it end?” Andor spoke up with bitterness. “Will we ever be out of danger?”

“I do not know...” Lucinia spoke the truth.

“Fuck this!” Andor threw up his hands. “I just wanted to work on a vessel that popped drones. We weren’t supposed to get involved in this type of shit. What the fuck?”

“There was no way to know the depths of this.” Proculus spoke with unnecessary sternness.

“That ain’t gonna fix this shit!” Andor spat back.

“This was never our intention, to put the crew into harm’s way like this,” Proculus almost cut him off. “We always operated with a low intensity template. The tendrils of Black Nova were never expected to be this far out towards the frontier. All that aside, we are in this situation now, regardless of what we feel is right or wrong and sticking together is what we need to be doing.”

“Naw, fuck it, I’m going to Star Guard to seek protective custody,” Andor stood up and headed for the door.

Sita stepped in his way and put a hand on his chest, stopping him from moving any further.

“You fuckin go to them and they will find reason to start asking fuckin questions. You spill your fuckin guts like a wiggly little fuckworm and they catch wind of Kazlaena’s situation. That will put that lil lady in imminent danger and you’d be the letchy little shit responsible. If you ever brought harm to her, I would chop your junk off and use the butt of my blade like a ramrod to cram that thing far up your ass. That way you literally fuck yourself every time you sit down, you feel?”

“Uh...” Andor stepped back, genuinely concerned for his safety.

“Look,” Cardox got Andor’s attention. “Nobody here expects you to fight to get her back, but the least you can do, is not be a buddy fucker and fail to do the one demand Black Nova has placed on us. At least hold on until Kazlaena’s situation is resolved.”

Andor stood there in silence, thinking of his options while the others waited for his next move.

“I cannot blame Andor’s thoughts or actions.” Zakia broke the silence. “But I am going to stay, if at least for Kazlaena’s sake and any possible assistance I can provide. “I must be truthful though, when this is done, I may very well have to resign from the concerns this will put upon my family and their safety.”

“You are an integral part of this ship and crew Zakia.” Lucinia spoke with praise. “Losing you would be a terrible outcome, but one truly understood. Your family must always come first.”

“Ain’t goin anywhere maself,” Charm said as she wrapped an arm around Delilah, who, through some emotions, made her own desire to stay known.

Andor seemed to take the hint and stood back.

“Alright, so long as I’m safe here, I guess I’ll fucking play prisoner until this is over. I will be quitting once this is done, be sure of that! To think you’re actually confining me to this ship and threatening my life! Ridiculous!”

“You’re fucking rights we are,” Sita snapped and Cardox reached out, taking hold of her arm.

They traded looks and she nodded, stepping away from the door so Andor could storm off.

Lucinia looked at them and they both gave her a nod, with Sita offering up a short apology.

“This difficult situation is developing and right now, Kazlaena needs us all doing our best to keep ourselves safe while we try to get her back.” Lucinia spoke to everyone.

“Will they be satisfied with money alone?” Saito stood up and leaned on the table he had been seated at.

“Probably not,” Jack spoke up, knowing it was a hard pill for the crew to swallow.

“Then she needs another option,” Saito turned around and faced the wall, setting his hands on his head while he hid his own emotions.

Jack nodded to himself as Rusu came over and gave him a strong hug, pressing his head against Jack’s shoulder.

“What can we do?” Delilah asked as she looked to Lucinia, then to Jack.

“Police? The law? Star Guard?” Zakia asked. “Is there any way to notify them without Black Nova being aware?”

“In all probability, doubtful.” Lucinia replied. “We could try to get in touch with them, but if there is a mistake made in that, as mentioned, Kazlaena pays the price. I am not prepared to risk bringing harm to Kazlaena by taking that chance just yet.”

“We will need to do a comms assessment,” Proculus said, looking over to Rusu. “When we are able to do so. I want us to find and contain any breaches in our electronics. We need to make safe this ship, before attempting further action with anybody on the outside.”

“I will, will try. I will find b-breaches. Will lock d-down.” Rusu replied.

Proculus gave him a nod, then looked away, keeping his own emotional state unreadable.

“So, no police yet?” Spurius clarified.

“Not yet,” Lucinia replied as she looked at Jack and the others on the security team. “The only proof of life I received was a photo of her. She looked unharmed.”

Jack balled a fist and forced out a heavy breath, before brushing his hair a few times as a self-soothing action.

“Well, you asked what we could do,” Jack looked to Delilah. “There is another alternative.”

“What are you thinking?” Lucinia asked.

“With all honesty, I’m not really thinking, not rightfully at least,” Jack then looked at Lucinia. “But there is another possibility, and that is to go get her back.”

“Like, attack them?” Delilah looked at him in shock.

“They have no issue attacking us.” Cardox stated.

“Fuckin rights, let’s go fuck them up.” Sita spoke up with enthusiasm.

“We have no idea where they even are.” Lucinia said, feeling regret as she felt she was taking away their hope.

“Uh,” Rusu looked at her. “You uh, got call, right?”

“Yes,” Lucinia nodded. “Do you think you can find where the call came from without alerting them?”

“Is only a hope,” Rusu wiped the tears from his face.

“Hope is all any of us have right now, Kazzie most of all,” Jack pulled Rusu back into a hug when he saw the Lexo begin crying again. “It’s an immense pressure to bear, Rusu. Try it only if you feel you can give it your best shot.”

“Will try.” Rusu said with confidence. “Will help for Kazzie.”

“So, if you find them, you actually plan to attack them?” Proculus questioned with heavy concern. “Are we being realistic here?”

“We pay them, they won’t give her back.” Jack replied. “They’ll come for another one of us next, and another, or take this ship out, or fuck with us in any way they can. That is the scenario we need to expect. We need to find a way to alter that possibility to ensure we all have a future.”