Chapter 3.

In hindsight it was probably a mistake to tell Kei to "show me what it's got" when she was demonstrating the twin-cockpit training fighter I'd pestered her into taking me out in. Leaning against the hangar wall and ignominiously throwing up into the corner I tried to ignore the hoots of laughter – and a few sympathetic slaps on the back – I was getting from the handful of the Arcadia's crew who'd turned up to see how their rookie captain had fared.

'The woman's a bloody maniac!' I gasped in between dry heaves. I wasn't usually prone to flight-sickness, but there are some manoeuvres that only a certified lunatic would pull off in a fighter – in or out of atmosphere. 'Why didn't you warn me?' I glared at Yattaran from under a mop of sweat-soaked hair that was blurring my vision in my good eye. Moving it however meant taking my hands off the wall, and that wasn't going to happen anytime soon.

My first mate grinned. 'Now where's the fun in that, eh Captain?' He delivered a slap to my shoulder that almost sent me flying. 'You did well – last guy who wanted flying lessons from Kei was crying for his momma inside of ten minutes…' He sniggered.

The culprit was sauntering over towards me, helmet tucked under one arm, swaying gracefully in a sky-blue flight suit that was almost distracting enough to take my mind off my stomach. She was trying valiantly not to laugh, but concern over my wretched state was quite obviously losing the war with amusement.

'Who the hell taught you to fly like that?' I rasped. 'Seriously, that last turn was suicidal…'

'Get him some water, Eddie,' she called to the youngest member of the crew who was hovering nearby, failing the "sympathetic concern for his captain" test by a considerable margin, his long nose twitching as he tried to hold back his giggles. 'And then get a cleaner over here to mop up the mess.' She laid a hand on my arm, rather more considerately than any of my other comrades in arms had. 'I'm sorry… it's just you were so adamant you could take anything I could throw at you, I couldn't resist…'

'Revenge,' I gasped, finally able to straighten up. 'Will be mine later in the gym…' I promised her as grimly as I could.

'And if you'd stop deliberately losing every time I get you pinned to the deck, I might be slightly scared,' she shot back with a wide grin. I grinned back, though I suspected the effect was more sickly than dazzling. Eddie arrived back with a water bottle, from which I guzzled gratefully.

'When you said you needed to beat me into shape, I didn't think you meant literally,' I told her. 'And you didn't answer my question – who did teach you to fly like that?'

'The Captain,' she replied, a little wistfully. 'If you think I'm crazy, you should have seen the stunts he'd pull. He always told me I was too cautious.'

'Easy to take risks when you're practically immortal,' I told her. 'In all seriousness though, you need to teach me that one – I don't recall ever seeing that in training at the Academy.'

'It wouldn't be,' Yattaran replied for her. 'Captain and his friend apparently designed these planes – Captain was quite the ace before the war, or so I heard. Kei's the only one of the crew who can handle them at those speeds now – lost a few over the years.'

'He didn't want to let me fly at first.' She gave me a careful study. 'Can you walk?' I managed to lever myself away from the wall.

'I think I'll live,' I said dryly.

She laughed. 'Let's get you cleaned up.' As we left the hangar she resumed: 'I badgered him until he pulled the same stunt on me that I just pulled on you – I wasn't in a much better state when I staggered out of the cockpit myself, so when he started some bullshit about women being too delicate to fly, I told him where he could stick it.' At the image of a teenaged Kei standing up to a guy over six and a half feet tall and a gaze that was allegedly capable of making hardened criminals piss themselves in fear, I had to smile.

'I can only dream that you used that nut-cracking knee-jerk on him for that as well…' Our last practice bout had left me curled up on the floor around my own pain and in serious doubt about my future ability to father children…

'Not that time, and only once,' she laughed. 'He once told me I wasn't attacking hard enough, and to really put some effort into it. Since I'd been trying desperately to get past his reach for half an hour, I just went for him. I didn't land one though until he pointed out that I needed to remember that I'd sometimes be fighting for something other than my life – then he grabbed my ass...' She paused in front of one of the portholes, looking out into the roiling black clouds that surrounded the ship. We were reflected in the glass – and for one eerie moment my own reflection seemed to be someone else's – collar-length hair, a scarred left cheek, a leather patch covering my right eye. The resemblances weren't that deep – Harlock had been taller, darker, older… his nose had been broken at some point, mine was still as straight as it had always been. But it was enough to give us both pause.

She looked so sad, I would have hugged her, but was too conscious of being a trifle fragrant after losing my breakfast over the hangar floor. But she turned back to face me with that little laughing shrug she used when she wanted to make light of a dark moment. 'It took two guys to pull me off him, and I hadn't known he used language like that, once he could speak.'

Knowing all too well how even a light tap in the balls could floor a guy, I was suddenly rather glad she hadn't unleashed that on me at full strength. 'That wasn't too long after you came aboard, was it, I'm guessing?'

She nodded. 'Took me a while to get used to even a handshake. It was tough, but he did teach me how to defend myself – and how to stop reacting on instinct to being touched.' She linked her arm in mine. 'He wasn't, however, much for hugs.'

She was leading me back down the corridor before I realised. Keeping up her chatter. I didn't mind: I made a point of squirreling away the crew's reminiscences… I had a feeling some of the anecdotes might come in handy someday.

'Yattaran says he should have the captain's fighter re-fitted by tomorrow, so you can try her solo if you want?'

Did I want…? Hell yeah… I'd just about fallen head over heels in love with the plane in question when I'd set eyes on her: the fighters' hangar deck had been off limits when I'd been nosing around the ship during my brief career as spy and assassin… Hell – I hadn't even known it was there: the Arcadia had never fielded fighters in combat that anyone knew, but since taking over as captain, I'd found out that a small cohort of SW-190DS planes had been commissioned for the Deathshadow fleet – a variant designed by Toshiro Oyama, the fleet's designer. Since the Arcadia could outfly any fleet fighter, and shrug off any damage they could dish out, they were pretty much obsolete in battle – and even the Fleet only used fighters for atmosphere or low orbital combat. Despite what warp-feed vids would have you believe, fighters, as Yattaran rather crudely put it, had two uses in space combat: jack and shit. And jack had left town…

They did however make useful long-range reconnaissance craft, and had potential eventually for covert missions such as the one we had planned in the next few days. And they were an adrenaline junkie's wet dream… even on paper they made the Cosmo Tiger I'd trained in look painfully slow and outdated.

But the new apple of my eye – excepting my combat-wing commander in her figure-hugging please-keep-your-eyes-pinned-to-my-ass flightsuits - was the captain's custom-job… a sleek, black painted marvel with a red skull and crossbones painted on her hull on the nose and both sides; not to put too fine a point on it, she was a little beauty.

The fighter, that is. On the other hand… it had been pointed out that I couldn't keep my hands off either, to the amusement of the crew.

The only downside had been that the cockpit of the Space Wolf was fitted out for a man Harlock's build – not my own skinny six foot one. But asking about getting her refitted had the added benefit of discovering the way to my first mate's crusty, cynical heart… just give him a giant model plane to tinker with, and he'd follow me anywhere; tell him he could play with the rest of the mothballed planes, and I might have just made a friend for life…

'Kei to Captain!' she snapped her fingers under my nose. We'd reached our quarters.

'I wasn't day dreaming,' I insisted. A snort told me she didn't buy it for an instant.

'I'll leave you to clean yourself up – I have to check out the shipping route info Yattaran hacked last week – we're running low on a few supplies.' She was off before I could think of anything to say – grabbing some hapless crewmember who happened to have made the mistake of standing still in the corridor for a few seconds – never a good idea; she always seemed to assume loitering when there was no intent. Ah well, since she wasn't carrying a clipboard this time, he'd survive.

'Always on a mission, that one,' said a voice behind me. One of our two guests; his partner - in several senses of the word, I'd guessed - called him Rei, but after a few drinks one night, he'd asked me to call him "Zero", and it stuck. I guess some things remain between friends and lovers – Kei was the only person on the ship who still used my old name, and that I suspected was because she didn't want to hurt my feelings at a critical moment. On the other hand, I got hit with the alternatives "kid" (usually from Ali); "lad" (anyone older than me which meant most of them); "rookie" (mostly Yattaran); the occasional "Captain" (Kei on duty or whoever she was glaring at) and the rare "Harlock" (Mimay). The guy had it easy.

'You have no idea,' I said with feeling. 'If I stand around for more than a minute she's finding things for me to look at. I think I know why the other guy practically locked himself in his cabin with a brandy bottle…' Something about Zero seemed a bit… off and it took a moment to percolate into my flight-fuzzed brain. 'Sunglasses – on a spaceship? Seriously?'

He grinned from under the dark glasses. 'Your first mate was kind enough to sort out my prescription, actually. The tint's just one-way.' He handed them over for examination. I turned them over; sure enough, clear as glass from the business end. I handed them back. 'Short-sight,' he said ruefully. 'But I learned early on that whilst a weakness gets exploited, an affectation usually just gets either mocked or ignored. That, or people think you're a serious hardcase,' he grinned as he put them back on. 'Win-win really. Plus they do look pretty cool.'

I emulated Kei's 'bullshit detector' snort at that point, but couldn't fault his logic. 'If you can stand the ribbing my crew will give you, don't let me stop you.' I opened the door. 'I need to clean up – did you need me?'

He nodded. 'Just a few points to go over – the surly one said we'd be approaching the drop-off point in the next 48 hours.'

'Ali, I'm guessing? And you just want into my drinks cabinet…' He smiled, following me in.

'Busted, I guess. But if I hang around the Boss for much longer, I'll go stir crazy. She's not happy about being left behind.'

'Yours too, huh?' I gestured to the chaise-longue to the side. 'Make yourself comfortable. I'll be a few minutes.' I grabbed a clean flightsuit and paused at the bathroom door. 'Oh and Zero – leave the scotch this time.'

He was browsing the files strewn over my desk when I came back out. I dropped the towel I'd been rubbing my hair with on the floor - it'd give Kei something to grumble about when she got back, and I hated to deprive her. Pants I'd put on before leaving the bathroom, but I had to grab a sweater from a drawer and drag it on over my head. I didn't bother with a patch.

'Nosy bugger.' I made a show of yanking the files out from under his elbow, though in truth there was very little there I was bothered about anyone seeing.

He handed me a snifter. Cheeky bastard had stayed away from the scotch all right – he'd picked a twenty-year old brandy instead. 'Just how many roles does "resistance fighter" cover for you two?' I asked.

'Too many, when there aren't enough of us,' Zero replied. He jerked his head to indicate my paper-film covered desk. 'Most of this looks like soil tests, growth charts and lighting levels… hobby?'

I shook my head, toyed with stacking a few flimsies and put them down again in a marginally tidier pile. 'An old dream. My…' I hesitated briefly. 'Sister-in-law died recently and left me her research - she'd succeeded in getting Earth-born flowers to bloom on Mars – carried on my mother's work. We grew up together and as kids we dreamed of solving the terraforming problem.' And there in a few words lay truth, falsehood and a bucket load of unspoken hurt that still kept on giving. I took a large gulp, welcoming the smooth burn of the brandy. 'I'm not sure there's much chance for a pirate to realise it though.'

Zero took a sip and raised his glass. 'There's always room for dreams. You're still young – don't give up on them yet.'

I raised my own in salute. 'I can hope.'

He placed a hand on one of the flimsies – a photograph of a red, mottled, five petaled flower with a dark well at its centre. The flesh-like petals fell back from this well, looking all too much like maggot-ridden meat. 'What the hell is this though?'

I shrugged. 'It's rafflesia arnoldii – a parasitical plant from Earth's tropics. If you think it looks bad, you should smell it – it apparently smells of rotting flesh – hence its common name – it's called the "corpse flower"'. I took another sip. 'My mother told me it had the biggest flower ever recorded. What the hell this picture was doing in Nami's files though, I've no idea. For some reason she'd encrypted the picture.' I shoved it out of sight under the pile I'd made. The move uncovered a small gilded multi-sided disk which I found my fingertips wandering over gently. I pulled away from it, and shifted my glass over into that hand. Zero watched from behind those opaque glasses, but said nothing. Another reason to like the guy – he didn't push.

We drank in companionable silence for a few minutes, before getting down to business: our main problem was going to be getting close enough in-system without being spotted; but thankfully few governments – even this one – had the resources to either patrol or monitor the multitude of approaches into a solar system. Being a planetary lifeform, we still thought mostly in terms of land-sea-sky, not the reality of being in the centre of an empty sphere where all directions were equally dangerous – even the best naval strategist in space could fail simply because with the best will in the world, you can't guard all angles. What you do is put your resources where the other guy is most likely to be – in the case of a battle, if someone doesn't actually want to engage with you, what are you going to do about it?

In terms of planetary defence, you try for the best coverage you can get – but there are always gaps, and it was those we hoped to exploit. Selen had apparently been a commander in their fleet; Zero a pilot. They knew their way around the planetary blockade. For the approach in-system however we were going to have to trust to luck, Dark Matter, and the help of a ghost and a lovely, if secretive alien.

We'd done most of the bottle by the time I took my leave to sort out my other issue. Though complex wiring probably wasn't a good idea after half a bottle of brandy, thankfully, I had help.

'You need to pick up that green cable. You know - I had to hotwire an impromptu sighting system one time - we had a whole fleet breathing down our necks, at the battle of Pluto. Harlock was captain of the Yukikaze at the time...'

'Seriously,' I said through gritted teeth, 'Do you ever shut up? We've been at this for an hour and you still haven't paused for breath.' It was pointless but I glared up at the tangled forest of cabling I was currently buried under, trying to see the trunk of the central computer core. 'I think I know why Harlock never connected this holographic system.'

The laugh this got was like the voice - mellow, melodious, surprisingly mature and gently teasing. Deeply at odds with pictures of the guy I'd seen. A voice you associated with a man six foot tall and capable of taking on the universe, yet somehow deeply disappointed in it at times. It wasn't a voice that went with a five foot something stocky, bespectacled, self-professed nerd.

'There.' I scrambled out from under the console. 'Try it now.'

A fuzzy green glow formed in front of me - a little below the level of my chin, forming the outline of a man, gradually filling in detail. The image stuttered a few times, then stabilised, until the aforementioned stocky nerd stood in front of me. He grinned, and I found it impossible not to return the gesture. That wide smile carried an infectious humour that was impossible not to like. Behind thick glasses, his eyes had a mischievous twinkle, yet somehow also a wise sorrow.

No. I'd been way off base, but I guess I knew that. Harlock wouldn't have been able to face this. It would have broken him, talking to his dead friend face to face; I understood that all too well, remembering the few times I'd spoken to Nami after they'd wired her into her system. I'd almost welcomed Isora's demands on my time after that. No wonder she'd chosen him in the end; I hadn't even been able to summon up enough courage to stay in the room with her for more than a few minutes at a time.

'Just like him,' Tochiro said softly. 'Always torturing yourselves.' His holographic form perched on the edge of a massive root-like extrusion from the central core. 'Neither of you ever think to just ask the other person what they really think of you.'

'And deny ourselves the luxury of a lifetime of self-flagellation and wallowing in self-pity?'

He laughed. 'At least you can laugh at yourself. I kind of like that. Reminds me of the old days...'

'Oh no you don't,' I stepped in quickly to head off another bout of reminiscences. 'Let's try to stay on topic for once. Are you okay with this?'

His image smiled. 'It takes a bit more power than I estimated, but I can keep it going so long as we don't need to put too much strain on the rest of the system. The one on the bridge will be a bigger drain, but hopefully we won't need it. My system already makes a large demand on the dark matter generator.'

'I just hope Kei won't need you,' I told him. 'Thanks for agreeing to do this.'

A smile and a shrug. 'Harlock and I never really needed it, but it's got merit for dealing with you kids,' he grinned. 'So when are you going to introduce me to her properly?' he asked cheekily. 'She's a real hotty, your girl.' I mimed slapping his intangible hand. 'Paws off and behave.'

'Don't worry, I don't poach. Always had more action than I could deal with picking up the debris Harlock left in his wake. You'd think they'd learn after the first few crashed and burned, but you can't complain when they turn to the nice sympathetic best friend...' It was impossible not to share his engaging chuckle.

'Just behave yourself, or she'll think you're just a dirty old man. Kei-' a sneeze behind me stopped me from finishing the sentence.

'He is a dirty old man,' she said lightly, sauntering in gracefully. 'Disgraceful behaviour for a ship's computer if you ask me.' She let Tochiro's hologram have her most dazzling smile, and damn me if he didn't actually blush. 'It's nice to meet you in person at last,' she said softly. To me she added: 'Is this the surprise you've been working on?'

I nodded. 'Thought it might help if you had a direct line whilst I was off playing hero. Tochiro here showed me how to connect the system. There's an interface on the bridge as well.'

She laughed. 'That'll freak the men out for sure. They already think the ship is haunted.' Tochiro huffed at her.

'It is, by me' he unleashed that cheeky smile on her, then looked her up and down appraisingly. If anything his grin got even bigger when she flushed.

'What did I say about behaving?'

Kei stood her ground. She could at least give as good as she got once got her bearings; she didn't disappoint this time. 'It's fine, Yama. In a way it's rather cute.' She stood in front of the hologram, and leaned forward until she was almost nose to nose with him. Given that she was a tall girl, that meant a good deal of cleavage was on display in the blue suit she was still wearing, which lacked the under tunic of her regular leathers. She placed a finger where it would have rested on his nose if he was tangible. 'See you on the bridge, short stuff.'

It might have been my imagination but I could have sworn I heard an "ulp" from my central computer's image as she sauntered out, tipping me a knowing wink. I grinned, wishing I'd be around to watch the fireworks. If he kept trying to fluster her, she would have him for breakfast.

'Wow, now I know what Harlock meant when he said she was trouble on two legs...' Tochiro whistled admiringly.

'I'm amazed he even noticed, ' I replied. Tochiro's snort spoke volumes.

'Yama my lad, trust me, he noticed. Once told me he'd never been so glad to be wearing that silly cloak on the bridge once she joined up. Staring at that ass all day was tough on his nerves, I can tell you.' He smiled sadly, at some old memory. 'You wouldn't have gone through his personal files yet?' I shook my head. 'Ah. When you do, you might understand one reason why he was desperate to keep her at arm's length. Girl's the living image of his wife.' He fell silent, a look of pain and loss on his face.

'Did she die during the war?'

He shook his head. 'If only. No. That might have been easier to bear. She ran from him - when he tried to go back for her. Screamed her head off and took the kids and bolted. Heard later she re-married; some up and coming young captain. Personally I always thought she was more in love with the hero than the man, but he'd been sighing over Maya since he was twelve, and some things you can't say to a friend and still stay friends - ya know?'

'I've never really had anyone that kind of close, until now,' I told him. Which was true enough: Isora and I had had our problems long before I'd crippled him, and Nami's friendship hadn't been without some qualifications. He smiled at me again. 'Ah, you'll find out, in time. You've got good people around you.' With that he faded from view, leaving only the massive tree-like central core whirling and humming.

With too much to think about, I left. I needed to get at least a few hours sleep before going over more details of our plan with Zero.