Mirror Dance

He found Qui

“Framingham! Report!” she was crying into the comm. “You’ve got to get into the air. Bharaputran airborne reinforcements are almost on top of you.”

Across the flight deck at the station opposite Qui

“Do you have everyone else? Do you have Norwood? I can’t raise his helmet!”

There was a short delay. Qui

Framingham’s voice at last. “We’ve got him now, ma’am. Got everyone–the quick and the dead alike, except for Phillipi. I don’t want to leave anyone for those bloody bastards if I can help it—” We have Phillipi.”

“Thank God! Then everyone’s accounted for. We have lift-off now, Captain Qui

“That’s precious cargo, Framingham,” said Qui

“We’ll be right behind you. Yellow Squad bought us a first-class ticket home free. Home free is Fell Station.”

“And then we head out?”

“No. The Ariel took some damage, earlier. We’re docking.”

“Understood. See you there.”

The Dendarii formation came together at last, and began to boost hard. Mark fell into a station chair, and hung on. The fighter shuttles were more at risk from enemy fire than the drop shuttles, he feared, watching the tac display. One fighter shuttle was distinctly lagging. It clung close to the Yellow Squad’s craft. The formation slowed itself to its wounded member. But for once, things ran to plan. Bharaputran harriers dropped reluctantly behind as they broke ’f the atmosphere and into orbit.

Qui

Fell Station was coming up at last. It was a huge structure, the largest of the orbital transfer stations circling Jackson’s Whole, and House Fell’s headquarters and homei city. Baron Fell liked holding the high ground. In the delicate interlocking network of the Great Houses, House Fell probably held the most raw power, in terms of capacity for destruction. But raw destruction was seldom profitable, and coup was counted in coins, here. What coin were the Dendarii using to buy Fell Station’s help, or at least neutrality? The person of Baron Bharaputra, now secured in the cargo bay? What kind of bargaining chips were the clones, then, small change? And to think he’d despised the Jacksonians for being dealers in flesh.

Fell Station was just now passing out of the planet’s eclipse, the advancing line of sunlight dramatically unveiling its vast extent. They decelerated toward one arm, giving up direction to Fell’s traffic controllers and some heavily armed tugs which appeared out of nowhere to escort them. And there was the Peregrine, coasting in. The drop shuttles and the fighter shuttles all gavotted around their mother ship, coming meekly to their docking clamps. The Peregrine itself eased delicately toward its assigned mooring.

With a clank of the portside clamps and the hiss of flex-tube seals, they were home. In the cargo bay, the Dendarii expedited removal of the wounded to the Peregrine’s infirmary, then turned much more slowly and wearily to tie-down and clean-up chores. Qui

The goal of Qui

Qui

Thorne and Mark went after her into free fall chaos. There were clone-youths everywhere, some crying, some violently sick—Dendarii were attempting to catch them, and get them towed to the exit. One harried trooper with a hand-vac was chasing floating globs of some child’s last meal before everyone had to breathe it. The shouts and screams and babble were like a blow to the mind. Framingham’s bellows were failing to speed a return to military order any faster than the terrorized clones could be removed from the cargo bay.

“Framingham!” Qui

He glanced down, frowning. “But you said you had it, Captain.” What?”

“You said you had Phillipi.” His lips stretched in a fierce grimace, “Goddammit, if we’ve left her behind I’ll—”

We have Phillipi, yes, but she’s—she was no longer in the cryo-chamber. Norwood was supposed to be getting it to you, Norwood and Tonkin.”

“They didn’t have it when my rescue patrol pulled them out. We them both, what was left of ’em. Norwood was killed. Hit through eye with one of those frigging projectile spine-grenades. Blew his head apart. But I didn’t leave his body, it’s in the bag over there.” Command helmets draw fire, oh yes, I knew that… . No wonder Qui

“The cryo-chamber, Framingham!” Qui

“We didn’t see any goddamn cryo-chamber, Qui

“Thorne,” Qui

Thorne nodded, rotated in air, and launched itself forward toward the flight deck.

“What is this?” demanded Sergeant Framingham. Qui

“Have you lost your mind, he’s right there—” Framingham’s finger sagged in mid-point at Mark. His hand closed into a fist. “Oh.” He realized. “That’s the clone.”

Qui