Page 4 of Star Cruise Captain's Story

“All right.” Jake shoved the piles of data on his desk aside and set his handheld close to his hand. “I’ll give her five minutes and then she’s out of here.”

“I’ll need more time.” A tall, strikingly beautiful woman stood behind Red.

Her voice raised shivers along his spine. Jake felt he ought to know who she was from the voice alone but he was positive he’d never seen her before. Moving smoothly around Red, the visitor came into his office, her hand out. “I’m Maeve.”

Jake was on his feet and had her hand in his before he processed the name. Slack jawed he stared at her, thinking he must be having a hallucination. “Unusual name.” He dropped her hand. “Have a seat.”

She sank gracefully into the chair he indicated and gave him a big smile. “Yes, Jake, I’m exactly who you think I am. It’s nice to meet you and Red in person after all these years, I must say.”

He heard a choked off curse from Red. Hastily Jake beckoned for his friend to come fully into the office and shut the door. For the first time in his entire life Jake was at a loss for words. There was no way this woman could be the only sentient he’d ever known who was named Maeve. Maeve wasn’t a person —she was an AI, a disembodied brain running the ship.

“I’m sorry, you have the advantage here—who did you say you were?” he asked, hoping against hope for an answer that would make sense.

If possible her expression grew more radiant. “I’m Maeve. We’ve been working together for years now.”

Jake tried to keep his grip on reality. “Maeve is an AI.”

She nodded. “I am. True. Do you need a small demonstration to prove who I am? Shall I make the engines flutter?”

The lights in the room flickered and Jake felt a small tremor run through the deck beneath his feet before the lights returned to providing full illumination.

Watching his reaction intently, the visitor offered more proof if required. “Or I can set all the slot machines in the casino up on Level A to pay out right now—the passengers would enjoy the excitement I’m sure.”

And the casino would be bankrupt…Hastily he raised a hand in a placating gesture. “No need. I’ll take your word for it.” Jake studied her, noticing how intense her icy blue eyes were as she held his gaze. She was beautiful all right but not quite human in an undefinable way. “You have to admit it’s something of a shocker for us to meet you in person.”

“I didn’t even know it was possible,” Red said, sinking into the chair next to her. “How?—”

“I’ve been working with the Mellureans for years, with the goal of accomplishing this very result,” she said coolly. “You remember they’re responsible for having my consciousness transferred from Captain Fleming’s old battleship to theNebula Zephyr?”

“Absolutely, ma’am,” Jake reassured her. “But why now? Why today? And why come to me of all people on board?”

Maeve settled into her chair, tapping one elegant fingernail on the arm in her only tell of being ill at ease. “The captain is in trouble and I need you to lead a rescue mission. I’ll be going along of course.”

In his many years in the military and now here on this ship Jake had heard and seen countless incredible, stupefying things but Maeve’s matter of fact announcement left him speechless for the second time in as many minutes. When he cleared his throat and got his breathing under control, he asked, “Why do you assume he’s in trouble? For all we know he went on an extended, richly deserved vacation and the last thing he’d wantis well meaning shipmates intruding. The man works hard and he deserves a break.”

“He’s not on vacation and he is in trouble.” She glared at him and then took a moment to quell Red, who hadn’t said a word, with an equally fiery attitude. “What I’m going to tell you doesn’t leave this room, gentlemen. Captain Fleming is on a one man undercover job out at the border or possibly even into the lawless hinterlands, trying to rescue his brother. The fact he’s been gone so long with no news and no contact even with me, means it’s gone sideways and he needs help.”

“I vaguely remember him telling us—or maybe you told us—his brother had gone missing, when we had the special holiday dinner for him,” Jake said. “I think you’d better fill us in on the background here.”

“Daveed Fleming was Special Forces like yourselves,” she said. “Until he got recruited into an even more elite and secretive branch of the Sectors military. He’s been operating on his own doing wet work and other highly dangerous jobs for the past ten years. It’s known he was betrayed on his last job and taken alive. The agency he works for is one of those “if you’re caught we’ll deny your existence and you’re on your own” organizations. However, between the three of us in this room, the captain and I were able to learn Daveed is still alive and in the hands of a major terrorist group in the area I mentioned before. Negotiations were underway for his return but the asking price was steeper than the Sectors was prepared to pay for one man and the deal making broke down. Last we heard Daveed had been sold by his original captors to yet another group, the Jlonngi.”

Red and Jake exchanged glances. “Seriously bad dudes,” Red said.

“Indeed. The trail goes cold there. Gil—Captain Fleming—decided it was up to him to find his brother and rescue him. Wepulled in all the favors and markers either of us possessed and set Gil up with an appropriate identity. He left us here to travel to the planet where the Jlonngi are known to have their primary base. Daveed was supposed to be transferred there in the near future for some spectacle the Jlonngi leader wants to stage. A big, messy public execution to shock and embarrass the Sectors, we believe.”

“No offense but why didn’t the captain, or you, ask the Mellureans for help? I know the two of you have quite a past history with them even if I don’t know any details.” Jake thought something wasn’t adding up here.

An annoyed expression flitted across Maeve’s perfect face and she tightened her lips. The lights flickered again. “Things with the Mellureans are…complicated. I don’t know if Gil asked them to help or not, but in any case he went off alone. I believe in the minds of the Mellureans this problem isn’t of sufficient scale to warrant their involvement. And they’ve already done so much for us, any debt owed to us is long repaid.”

“So you want us to take off after the captain, find him, help rescue his brother and get the two of them and ourselves to safety?” Jake asked. “You’re making a big ask, Maeve. Red and I were damn good, back in the day when we were on active duty, but even then this would be a monumental job. The very fact the military hasn’t rescued Daveed if he’s so important, is telling of how difficult this operation would be. And I’m assuming we’d have no help, no reinforcements, no one watching our six.”

“Not to mention taking a leave of absence from our jobs here,” Red added. “The CLC Line might not be willing to grant the request.”

“Especially since we couldn’t tell them the truth,” Jake added. “We could get blacklisted in the cruise industry all together. And Red is up for promotion to chief of security on thenext CLC Line cruise liner when it launches next year. There’s a lot at stake.”

Eyes wide, Maeve stared at them in disbelief. Jake felt the ship tremble again, the deck under his feet vibrating. “I thought you two were loyal to the captain? I counted on you to help him.”

“We’re not saying no.” Jake had no problem speaking for Red, who was closer to him than any brother could be. “I need you to understand this is no small task and the risks will be astronomical. Anything we decide to do will have to be planned down to the last tiny detail and there’s not going to be a guarantee of success. This isn’t an adventure trideo where the heroes emerge triumphant in the last act because it was written to be that way. If we do it this will be real, dirty and dangerous.”

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