The Lost Ship of the Tucker Rebellion - Marie Sexton Page 0,70

on Martian-run stations.

Dusty nodded, seemingly unfazed by the label. “Some of us, yes,” she said. “Some of us were simply waiting for a chance to flee the tyranny of Mars.”

“How many ships are we talking about here?” Denver asked

“Eight, including mine.”

Marit’s gasp and Laramie’s expressions told Denver he wasn’t the only one who was surprised.

“Eight ships on our tail, and we didn’t know? How is that even possible?”

“The reason you haven’t seen us is because we’re not behind you. We’re actually flying a parallel course, slightly ahead of you.”

“So you’re not following us?”

“We are. Just not from behind.”

“What the fuck does that even mean?” Marit snapped.

“Well…” Dusty’s lips twitched into a smile. “I’ve known Samsen since we were kids. It’s not so much that I’m tailing you as that I have the benefit of knowing where you’re headed.”

Denver felt the blood drain from his face. Marit and Laramie both swore vehemently. “So, you bribed Samsen into giving you our destination?” Denver resisted the urge to punch something. It wouldn’t do him any good. “Just great. How many more people did he sell us out to?”

“Nobody. Just me. Like I said, we’ve known each other since we were kids. He knows how long I’ve been waiting for a chance like this. Telling me was a personal favor, but he has no reason to reveal the information to anybody else. And even with me, he wouldn’t give me specific coordinates. He gave me a general idea of the area and told me that you’d probably use gravity assist to slingshot around Uranus.” That made Denver feel a bit better, assuming she was telling the truth. “We planned to wait until you’d reached the Umbriel Crater Station to make contact, but new developments have convinced us to alter those plans.”

“What developments?”

Dusty cleared her throat, eyeing everybody in the cockpit of the Jiminy. Her hands clenched in the fabric of her skirt, and Denver realized what he’d taken for poise was partially bravado used to cover nerves. “Captain Clayborne, it might be better if you and I spoke in private.”

Nothing could have surprised Denver more than that. He glanced around—at Laramie, looking as surprised as Denver felt; Marit, whose face betrayed nothing; and Spence, lingering in the doorway, chewing his lip nervously. He trusted all of them implicitly, Spence included. He turned to face Dusty again. “There’s nothing you’d say to me that you can’t say in front of these people.”

“The thing is, Captain… we believe you have a traitor on board.”

Denver waved him off. “What makes you say that?”

“Do you deny the possibility?”

Denver thought over the people on his ship. “Oh, it’s possible, all right. But I guarantee, it isn’t any of us here in this cockpit. So I ask again, what makes you think it’s true?”

“One of the captains in my fleet has access to military channels. Pirated, of course. But we’ve learned that several Titan X military grade ships are now in pursuit. And one of those ships is a Destroyer.”

“But they can’t be following us, right?” Denver said. “We have a huge lead on them. They have no idea where we are, and space is a pretty big place.”

“Four nights ago, somebody on your ship sent an encrypted messages to Titan X. Two hours later, a Jumper-class ship left Titan X, heading directly for your coordinates. And whoever’s in that Jumper… the authorities knew to put a tracker on their ship before they left Titan X.”

“Shit!” Denver’s dismay was matched by Marit’s quiet cursing and a strong wave of dismay coming off his brother.

“How fast are they going?”

“High drive speed. Not full throttle, but faster than the Jiminy’s moving.”

“Shit!” Denver said again. He held up a finger. “Give me a minute.”

“Of course, sir.”

Laramie hit the button to effectively put the conversation on hold, allowing them to confer in private, and Denver braced himself for the onslaught from his meager crew.

“Did she just call you ‘sir’?” Marit asked.

And then, the thing he hadn’t expected:

“I didn’t do it!” They all turned to find Spence still standing in the doorway, his cheeks red and his eyes dark with indignation. “I know you’re all going to blame me, but I didn’t do it! I’d never tip off somebody on Titan X. I didn’t drop those messages.”

“Relax, Cherry Cola,” Laramie said, almost smiling, although Denver sensed the deep-seated feeling of betrayal coming off him. “Granted, you’re shady as hell and you’ve somehow managed to turn my