"Railroad Spine," Chapter IV and V
Riley 4x08 is done, so it's back to Railroad Spine for me! I think I'll get this up to around 20k and then switch back over. Maybe I'll take some time for some fic. I need to make a strong show at sanctuary_bingo before people think I've gotten complacent. I kind of like it like this. I'm giving people a chance to catch up, not flooding them with lots of chapters. So far my brain hasn't gone kerfluey. ~knocks on wood~ We'll see how it progresses.
This is an uber!SG-1 type story, but I'm expanding that to include characters from SGA and SGU since this story takes place over an entire continent (and Sam DID appear on all three shows, so her uber could encounter all the people). There are two new characters introduced in this chapter. One's identity is probably going to be blatantly obvious, while the other can be one of two people. I'll see who people think it is.
IV
The Ruffians wouldn't be able to get their person on her crew until her next stop at base, so getting their contraband onboard fell to Dice. She sent her Cargo Boss on a make-work assignment on the other side of the hangar. Once he was gone, she went to the wall of crates waiting to be loaded and used a handcart to move the one with the identification number she'd gotten from Micah. She moved it closer to the Tamerlane and used a click-scanner to change the identification code to match that of her ship.
When Matthias returned, she was long gone. He checked the crates labeled for their ship and began the process of loading them.
The Tamerlane drifted south along the coast. While on a long detour around a brewing storm, Dice retired to her quarters and continued work on her latest project. She was surrounded by small pieces of cloth and cotton fluff. Pieces of old jumpsuits scavenged from her closet, cotton batting bartered for during their last visit to Allegheny, thread and a needle that she'd borrowed from her newest engineer... She had been working on it for most of the past year, occasionally pulling out the thread with her teeth to start the whole mess over again when something frustrated her.
Now the project was almost near completion, she found it harder to put it away. She worked at night when she should have been sleeping, and often carried her supplies into the cockpit with her so she could stuff cotton and work the thread during long, dull stretches of sky.
They arrived in Allegheny and docked at one of the privately-owned Mantis towers that rose from the rocky ground like oil derricks. The cargo was unloaded and Dice kept an eye on the illicit box until a pair of men arrived with the proper identification to release the crate Dice had snuck on board. One of them, a farm boy type with shaggy brown hair, eyed her left hand as he approached.
"You Airskip Bodger?"
"I am."
"Nathaniel King." He held out his hand, and she shook it. "I want to thank you for getting our cargo to us safe and sound. Anything we can ever do for you in return, let us know."
She nodded. "I'll do that." She started to let him walk away, but then a thought occurred. "Mr. King."
"Nathaniel. What can I help you with?"
Dice guided him away from the crowd. "The children who are taken by the government, who become wards. Is there any way to find out what happens to them?"
He considered the question. "Could be possible. I have a couple of people I could ask."
"Thank you."
"Sure thing."
Dice watched him return to his truck, his companion already done securing the package. Dice couldn't help but wonder what she had delivered to the men, but what was done couldn't be undone. She looked around the base of the docking tower for something to keep her busy until their load had been fully handed off.
The remainder of their assignment took them further south, across Allegheny, to pick up medical supplies for The Old Colony. Their communications officer received their orders to return to base for a change of personnel, and Dice knew Tesla's acolytes had succeeded.
She suffered through the typical rigmarole of updates and announcements from the Administration before the sergeant announced a change in officers. "Cargo Boss Matthias, you are now assigned to the Cavalry. Airskip Bodger, your new Cargo Boss will be Cecily Pike. She'll report for duty before your next departure." He checked the watch on the inside of his wrist. "Assignments will be posted at 0600."
Matthias was escorted from the hangar by most of her crew, taking advantage of the delay in assignments to give their friend a proper send-off. Dice went the other direction, taking as direct a route to the nursery as she could manage in the honeycomb of corridors. She paused when she reached the Newborn Room, drawn to the glass and resting her fingers against it like a moth batting against a light bulb. Apparently it was baby season, as there were three infants squirming and kicking against their swaddling with tiny mouths opened in cries muted by the glass.
I'm not a mother, Dice told the twinge in her chest. She lowered her hand from the glass and unconsciously began rubbing the nub where her small finger had been. Giving birth doesn't make you a mother any more than--
"Can I help you?"
The question had come from the speaker next to the glass, and Dice looked up to see a woman she didn't recognize watching her from inside the Newborn Room. Due to the added workload, five more Midwives were added to the Nursery rotation. The question had been sympathetic, not confrontational, and Dice realized her cheeks were wet.
"I'm looking for Peri Novak."
"She's with a mother at the moment. She should be available in about half an hour if you'd like to wait."
Dice agreed, and the Midwife came outside to escort her to a small waiting room.
While Dice waited, she took the doll from the inside pocket of her jumpsuit. The arms were limp, but plush, and she squeezed the body with disappointment. There was only so much stuffing she could swipe from the chair in her squat. The doll was plump enough, she decided. The face and hair were drawn onto the fabric, a gross approximation of a human face, and she brushed some lint away from the crown of the head.
"Candice?"
She stood and stepped into Peri's embrace. They kissed as only lovers separated for four months can kiss before they pulled apart. "I've missed you."
"I know." She held up the doll. "I... made you... this."
Peri frowned at the object until she realized what it was. "Oh, Dice..."
"It's just something I did to pass the time."
"It's amazing. Thank you so much." She kissed Dice again, clutching the doll to her chest as her other hand curled in Dice's hair. "How long are you here?"
"Until tomorrow morning. 0600."
"I'm on duty until 2100. You can take your things to my rooms and nap while you're waiting for me."
Dice smiled. "I won't have to kick anyone out?"
"Mm-mm. I've been alone since the last time you were here."
Dice was surprised. "Really? I didn't want that."
"I know. I did. I chose to wait." She smiled and brushed Dice's cheek with her hand, concern tainting her happiness as she rubbed her thumb and forefinger together. "Have you been crying?"
"No." She faked a smile and kissed Peri's cheek. "I'll wait in your rooms for you."
"Okay." Peri squeezed Dice's hand, then gestured with the doll. "Thank you for this. Knowing you worked on it while you were so far away from me, it'll be like having a piece of you with me all the time. Thank you, Dice."
Dice nodded. She would have been heartbroken if Peri had laughed or refused the gift, but she was somehow even more flustered in the face of genuine appreciation.
She let Peri go back to work and left the nursery by a circular route that kept her away from the newborns. She knew the way to Peri's room almost as well as she knew the path to her own quarters, and the space was just as familiar. She took off her jumpsuit and boots, leaving her in black pants and a collarless white dress shirt. She sat on the edge of Peri's bed, looked toward the kitchen and began debating a meal before her nap. Her next conscious thought was a realization that the bottom few buttons of her shirt were undone so someone could kiss her stomach. Eyes closed, she put her hands on Peri's head and guided her higher. Peri moved up and kissed Dice's breasts through her shirt as her hand moved to the gold buckle of her uniform pants.
By the time she was fully awake, her clothes were off. She took Peri into her arms and rolled her over, laying her down before undoing the buttons and catches of her uniform. Naked in each other's arms, Dice ran the flats of her palms over Peri's curves until they converged between her legs. She laced her fingers together with both forefingers extended, and used her hips to guide them forward.
Peri lifted her chin and Dice kissed it, moving down Peri's neck with gentle strokes of her tongue. Peri hunched her shoulders and lifted up to press her body to Dice's, one leg rising to press against Dice's sex. They moved against each other like dancers, limbs intertwined and bodies growing slick with sweat that made their movements easier.
As Dice thrust against her and into her, Peri ran her hands over Dice's breasts and then up to either side of her head. Their eyes met and Peri smiled as Dice ducked her head down for a kiss. She gasped against Peri's mouth and closed her eyes as she came, her body turning to steel as she rubbed herself against Peri's thigh. She pulled her hands back and stroked Peri's sex with her thumbs, getting them wet before moving them up to her clit.
She captured Peri's clit between her thumbs and stroked it as best she could given the awkward position. Peri closed her eyes, her jaw thrust forward so that her teeth were exposed as she writhed. Dice kissed her chin, nose, and eyelids until Peri cried out. She sagged to the mattress, pulling Dice down on top of her, and they kissed until they had regained the strength to do more.
"I've missed you," Peri whispered. She turned her head and kissed Dice's bicep.
Dice brushed Peri's chestnut hair away from her forehead. "Too many jaunts from one side of the country to the other. Not enough time at home." She rolled off Peri, who turned onto her side and let Dice spoon her from behind. Dice saw that the doll was sitting on the nightstand, smiling down at them, and she returned its smile. "At least now you'll have something to remember me when I'm gone."
"Mm. I love it. But it's nothing compared to the real thing." She turned Dice's hand over and traced the lines of the palm. "Where did you go this time?"
"Usual." She kissed the curve of Peri's neck and shoulder. "Allegheny, New Amsterdam, Seattle Alki..." Dice considered the next thing she was about to say, and kissed the shell of Peri's ear. "If I tell you something sensitive, will you keep it to your grave?"
"For you? Yes."
Dice moved her free hand to press against Peri's stomach. "I met some people in Newams. A group of people who, um, share... information."
Peri's hand stopped moving. "Information? Like... intelligence?"
"Yes."
The bedroom was silent. Peri rolled onto her back and took Dice's left hand between both of hers. "Be... careful."
"The bastards already took my son. I'm not going to risk them taking away the woman I love, too. Don't worry. I'll be safe."
"These people... I assume you wouldn't tell me about them unless you planned to see them again. Right?"
Dice nodded.
"What are you looking for from them?"
"I want..." She looked down, distracted for a moment by the curves of Peri's body. "I want to make them pay for taking my son. I want to get my son back. And these people are my best shot at doing that."
Peri looked down at their hands and pressed her lips together. "Uhm-hm. I just don't... want you to take unnecessary risks. I'm kind of fond of you, Bodger."
Dice smiled. "I'm keen on you, too. But you didn't have the benefit of a nap, and you've been working all day. We can rest if you--"
"I'll sleep when you're gone. Come here... kiss me again."
Dice kissed Peri, slipping her tongue across her lips. Peri moaned into Dice's mouth and, when she pulled back, whispered, "I didn't mean on my mouth."
"Oh." Dice shifted her weight and slid down on the sheets. "My mistake."
Peri grinned and spread her legs to give Dice room to lie between them.
#
Dice stooped to enter the cargo hold. The entrance was small, but the room was vast when empty as it was now. It ran the entire length of the ship, with compartments for fragile or sensitive cargo. A dark-haired woman in the regulation jumpsuit was crouching at the entrance to one of the compartments when Dice entered, and she glanced over her shoulder with disinterest before going back to her inspection.
"Cecily Pike? I'm Candice Bodger. Welcome aboard."
"Mm. Do you usually greet your new crew members so personally?"
Dice shrugged. "Depends on the circumstance."
"And what circumstances would these be?" She pushed herself up and turned around. The front of her suit was unzipped far enough to reveal a scoop-necked shirt stained with sweat and grease. There was a trace of a foreign accent under her words. She had thick dark eyebrows and a wide mouth that was just barely too big for her face. Her high cheekbones and dark eyes off-set the harsh planes of her features enough to make her exotic rather than unattractive.
"The circumstances that I've heard good things about your work. I look forward to working with you."
Cecily brushed her hands on the thighs of her jumpsuit. "Your previous Cargo Boss let things go to shit."
"Then I pity the crew of the Cavalry."
"Don't. I've met them." She looked toward the entrance and stepped closer to Dice. "And don't ask to see my tattoo, and don't ask what I've lost. Some of us are smart and don't want to get caught. I'm not going to lose something because my Airskip couldn't keep her mouth shut. Am I understood?"
Dice furrowed her brow. "I'm the captain of this ship, Cargo Boss Pike, and you will show the proper respect when addressing me."
"Am I understood, ma'am?"
"You are. Am I?"
They stared at each other for a tense, silent moment before Cecily allowed herself a small grin. "Yeah. Understood, Airskip Bodger."
"Good. I look forward to working with you."
She turned and walked away.
"Airskip." She stopped. "You lost a daughter?"
"A son. His name was Linus." She stroked her missing finger.
Cecily was quiet for so long Dice thought she'd gone back to work. Finally she said, "My sister was taken when I was a girl because of my parents' crimes. We were twins. Cordelia. Cordy and Cece. I volunteered for this position. I want to help you however I can, Airskip."
"You can start by calling me Dice."
"As you say."
"And we have occasional games of Six-Bones. If I'm playing, don't bet anything you don't want to lose."
Cecily scoffed. "Cocky bitch, ain't ya?"
"I'm not bragging. Just a friendly warning."
"Aye, Airskip."
Dice was glad she was facing away so Cecily couldn't see her smile as she left the cargo hold to begin preparations for takeoff.
V
Dead silence.
Dice stood in the short corridor below the cockpit, one hand gripping the leather strap so she wasn't knocked against the sides. Her crew was lined up behind her. She lifted her head just enough to see through the glass. The Rocky Mountains were still well below them, but if they drifted any further she would have to make adjustments to their bearing. And if she did that they might as well throw a welcoming party.
The other airship crossing to the south of them was larger. Its underbelly was strapped with baskets that held men armed with railguns. Pirates. The night was deep enough, and the two ships far enough apart, that they could be mistaken as a cloud by anyone who looked out of the other vessels windows. If anyone was even awake over there. Dice couldn't take the chance. A boarding would mean losing their cargo, captured men, and imprisoned women. Pirates, especially those in the Flyovers, weren't exactly known for their sense of due process.
After a handful of interminable minutes had passed, Dice moved up the steps into her darkened sanctuary. She stayed close by the windows so she could peer over and up at the other vessel. There were running lights along the hull of the ship, but it otherwise looked quiet. She didn't allow herself relief, not yet. They were still inside pursuit distance. She gauged how far they had left before she could power up and put a fire under their asses. Pirates rarely pursued when their victims had a head start.
Dice spotted them in the distance just before they reached the mountainous continental divide, a Behemoth in the air without broadcasting its call signal over the wireless. She switched off their running lights just in case, and silenced their own broadcast signal. She announced their situation to the crew, who powered down their own stations in anticipation of a drift. If it turned out they added a few hours to their mission while cowering from a friendly vessel, they would laugh about it at next landfall.
But if not... just in case...
She waited until the pirates were just a blob on the horizon, a slightly darker oval of black against the night sky, before she returned to the cockpit entrance. She used hand signals to indicate a return to power in three minutes. They would push the ion engines to full and she would track a course to the northeast as fast as their little ship could carry them.
The crew hurried to their stations. Soon the corridor was abandoned except for Dice and Cecily. In the past three months, they had grown to trust each other to certain degrees. Cecily was obviously a high-ranking member of the Ruffians and wasn't used to taking orders or deferring to anyone else's authority. She tended to disappear at base and on ports, returning minutes before they were due to launch without an explanation of where she had been.
Anyone else with such a superior attitude would have been kicked off Dice's ship the second they were somewhere she could draft a replacement. But Cecily was making the effort, and Dice could tell she would be a very handy ally to have in a tight spot. They compromised when possible, and Cecily was learning to ask permission before she vanished.
Cecily's plan for the pirates had been more drastic than Dice's. "We have the upper hand. We've seen them and they're asleep. I say we turn the tables on them. Disable their engines, zip over, get what we can take and leave them drifting. They would do the same to us, given the chance."
Dice refused to sink to their level and ordered Cecily to stand down. Now that the danger was over, she could see there would be hard feelings between them at least until the next stop in Willamette. Cecily shrugged as if to say it didn't matter, but her voice was flat and emotionless when she spoke. "You saved us."
"You win every fight you avoid starting."
Cecily nodded. "And what about the next ship that passes their way? What if they aren't as lucky as we just were?"
"You can't kill every shark in the ocean, Cecily. No need wasting resources if we can help it." She looked at her watch. "I have to restart the engines. Make sure you're secured in about ninety seconds. We're going to be hauling ass."
Cecily saluted. "I'll be prepared for the running-away, Airskip."
Dice bit back her own retort and returned to the cockpit, slipping into the seat and powering up her console. She found the engines ready for a quick burst, set their new heading, and felt her weight sink deeper into the padding as the ship responded. She hooked the receiver over her ear, angled the microphone down, and twisted to look back behind them.
"Navi?"
Their navigator, Abraham, hesitated before responding. She knew he was just waiting to be absolutely certain so their hopes wouldn't be unnecessarily raised, and she kept her hand still until his voice came over the speaker. Many past Airskips had pointed out the necessity of a pilot to do their own navigation, but the government refused to clear them for the knowledge. They had a rudimentary knowledge and a small display to handle immediate concerns, but they weren't allowed to know enough to chart an entire course for themselves. Finally, Abe spoke.
"Clear skies, Airskip. No pursuit."
Dice smiled and flipped on the intercom. "Sorry to interrupt everyone's evening with that bit of hide-and-seek. If it's any consolation, we won that round. We'll be arriving at Willamette in approximately three hours, so feel free to go back to bed or whatever debauchery I interrupted earlier. Clear skies, Tamerlane."
She took off the headpiece and tossed it onto the curved top of her console. She rubbed her face and exhaled sharply as she looked out at the mountains passing below them. Compared to what she'd seen earlier they seemed to be a blur of blue-gray stone and snow. She couldn't help hearing Cecily's voice in her mind, mocking her. We're definitely running now.
She'd never considered herself a coward, but watching the mountains fly by underneath her ship, it was hard to think of herself as anything else.
#
New Amsterdam's size and commerce meant that the Tamerlane was assigned there at least once every six weeks. During their overnight layovers, Dice and Cecily would claim a need for a girls' night out away from the testosterone of the ship and make their way to the Ruffians' headquarters. Dice finally got a full tour on her second visit to the house. The first floor parlor was reserved for dining and social gatherings, and nine times out of ten there were groups of fugitive Ruffians camped out in the parlor.
The library took up the entire second floor. Doorways had been cut into walls to change the floor into one continuous room all full of books.
The third floor had received the opposite treatments; four bedrooms, two on either side of the staircase and one directly ahead of it, had been separated into nine rooms of varying size. Dice noticed that space had been left so that all of the bedrooms could be reached without going through one of the others. Micah, who had assigned himself tour guide, smiled and said, "Things are cramped enough as it is... we need all the privacy we can afford."
He pulled a ladder down from the ceiling and let her poke her head into the attic. A small window let in sunlight in which motes of dust danced, giving the illusion of movement to the stacks of cardboard boxes and papers. She descended and rubbed the dust off her palms. "What happens if the police or government find out about this place?"
Micah led her back downstairs. "We have friends on the police force who turn a blind eye. But we do have contingency plans in the event of a government raid. Isaiah will do his best to keep them at bay on the ground floor while the rest of us scatter. There's an alley through the back that leads onto Broad Way. We have safe houses where we can lay low until the coast is clear."
"And Isaiah?"
"He volunteered to be the gatekeeper. He wants to give his freedom if it means even one of us gets away."
Dice didn't say anything, but she had a feeling an African man was risking more than just his freedom by fighting the police. They would shoot first and ask questions never.
Six months after her tour, she arrived to find the townhouse filled to capacity. Cecily put her arm around Dice's neck, obviously expecting the festivities but unwilling to explain them as she led Dice through the crowd. She found Paul speaking with a freckled, dark-haired woman in a snug red shirt. Cecily greeted Paul with a kiss on the scruff of his cheek.
"Heck of an Airskip you set me up with, Paul."
Paul looked at Dice and winked. "Everything working out?"
Dice braced herself for a complaint about the pirates, waiting to be called a coward, but Cecily surprised her. "I've never seen anyone so loyal to her crew. She'd lay down her life to protect 'em. She's a good addition."
"I knew she wouldn't let me down." Paul ended the conversation with his companion by brushing her arm and motioning for Dice to follow him. "Come on. I'll get you a drink."
Dice followed him through the crowd. "What the hell is going on here?"
"July Tenth." She had a vague recollection of the date being mentioned, but she couldn't remember the context. Paul took pity on her. "Nikola Tesla's birthday. We have a little shindig every year, as do other headquarters across the country."
"That's dangerous." Cecily's suggestion of volunteering the Tamerlane for this supply run to New Amsterdam suddenly made sense. "Aren't you worried about the police noticing heavy traffic in and out of the building? Or do your friends on the force take care of that for you?"
"If the government wants to stake out potential known headquarters, who do they use? The police. And we have enough badges on our side that we know if holding a celebration is safe or not." He stopped in front of a table of refreshments. "Have your choice. A dinner will be served at ten, or you can fill up on the hors d'oeuvres. Mingle. Get to know the people you've been risking your safety for, and who have been risking theirs for you."
Dice looked at him. "Risking theirs?"
He casually picked up some sort of ham appetizer and pulled it off the toothpick with his teeth. "We managed to get someone into Nursery to look at their files. Their adoption and almshouse records are, of course, insanely encrypted so it might take a while before we're even able to read them, let alone seek out a single specific child. But we're looking."
Dice was stunned. "Thank you. I didn't know you were doing that."
"Just because you don't have a tattoo doesn't make you less of a member." He winked at her. "You're a Ruffian now. Enjoy yourself."
He went off into the crowd and left Dice at the table to process what he'd just revealed. Of course they had promised to try finding Linus. But the confirmation, so casually given, that they'd been working while she was crossing the country with their smuggled goods was enough to rock her back on her heels.
She soon recovered and, as Paul suggested, began to move through the crowd. She was invited into conversations, learned about the people who were attending. One had traveled all the way from Arcadia, braving border patrols simply because the Newams meeting was the closest one he could find. Still others seemed to consider Dice a hero for her part, though she tried to play it down. They gasped in horror at her missing finger, and a few women embraced her with a promise to pray for her reunion with Linus.
She was overwhelmed by the time dinner was served. The room was cramped and stuffed full of tables, an effort to seat everyone that had unfortunately come up short. Dice took her plate into the parlor and ate with a group of men who had known Levi, and they shared stories about him over their food.
By the end of the night, Dice felt like a true member of their family. She was buzzed from the alcohol, feeling warm and welcome, and she eagerly accepted Isaiah's hand when he invited her to dance with him. The parlor had mostly cleared out by then, and there was plenty of room to cut a rug in front of the fireplace. Isaiah was dressed in a white shirt and tuxedo pants, his muscles straining the seams. Dice was drunk enough to run her fingers over the bulges, and Isaiah smiled as she feigned lightheadedness.
He kissed her, and she let him. It was a dance, after all. She made a promise to herself that she would stop him when it got to the line, and his actions were tentative as if he was only testing the waters. Finally, tired of his tentative explorations, she broke the kiss. "There's a line. I'll let you know when you get there."
Isaiah smiled and kissed her again with a bit more passion. She was feeling the line fast approaching, gauging by the new bulge fast taking shape against her hip, when a pair of slender arms ensnared her from behind. She turned to see who it was, and Cecily stunned her with a ferocious kiss. Dice's eyes opened wide as Cecily's tongue wormed its way into her mouth, and she was vaguely aware of Isaiah's lips on her neck.
She pulled away from her Cargo Boss, breathless, and put her hand on the side of Isaiah's head. "Wait. Stop."
"Stop? Now?" Cecily pressed against her. "And after all this talk of not being a coward..." Her hand slid under the waistband of Dice's pants and cupped one cheek of her ass.
"Cece," Dice said. "I'm serious."
The hand withdrew, and so did Isaiah. Dice was flustered, aroused despite herself, and took a moment to regain her bearings before she flashed an apologetic smile at them both.
"Sorry for the cold shower."
"It's fine." Cecily sidled past Dice and proceeded to drape herself against Isaiah's body. She looked over her shoulder at Dice, her hair covering one side of her face but leaving one eye unveiled to provide a look of sheer seduction. "Enjoy your night, Airskip Bodger. I know we will."
Dice leaned in and kissed Cecily, just to prove she wasn't a prude, and then kissed Isaiah goodbye. "Thanks for the dance. Sorry to switch partners on you."
"We'll make do." He put his arms around Cecily and began to sway his hips. The dance was similar to the one he and Dice had done, but with a much different energy. If Cecily had a line, Dice doubted Isaiah would cross it. She dropped onto the couch and watched them together, hypnotized by their movements and by the amount of illicit alcohol she'd imbibed. Seriously good alcohol. Better than the watered-down shit at the taverns.
She rested her head on her hands and watched as Isaiah sat down and pulled Cecily onto his lap. One eyebrow rose as she watched them. Just out in the open like this...?
A part of her wanted to join them, but a bigger part rebelled at the idea. Peri had remained faithful for four months. Dice felt she owed it to her to honor that commitment. She dozed off a few moments after Cecily's top slipped off her shoulders, feeling disappointment that she'd stayed awake so long just to miss the main attraction.
This is an uber!SG-1 type story, but I'm expanding that to include characters from SGA and SGU since this story takes place over an entire continent (and Sam DID appear on all three shows, so her uber could encounter all the people). There are two new characters introduced in this chapter. One's identity is probably going to be blatantly obvious, while the other can be one of two people. I'll see who people think it is.
IV
The Ruffians wouldn't be able to get their person on her crew until her next stop at base, so getting their contraband onboard fell to Dice. She sent her Cargo Boss on a make-work assignment on the other side of the hangar. Once he was gone, she went to the wall of crates waiting to be loaded and used a handcart to move the one with the identification number she'd gotten from Micah. She moved it closer to the Tamerlane and used a click-scanner to change the identification code to match that of her ship.
When Matthias returned, she was long gone. He checked the crates labeled for their ship and began the process of loading them.
The Tamerlane drifted south along the coast. While on a long detour around a brewing storm, Dice retired to her quarters and continued work on her latest project. She was surrounded by small pieces of cloth and cotton fluff. Pieces of old jumpsuits scavenged from her closet, cotton batting bartered for during their last visit to Allegheny, thread and a needle that she'd borrowed from her newest engineer... She had been working on it for most of the past year, occasionally pulling out the thread with her teeth to start the whole mess over again when something frustrated her.
Now the project was almost near completion, she found it harder to put it away. She worked at night when she should have been sleeping, and often carried her supplies into the cockpit with her so she could stuff cotton and work the thread during long, dull stretches of sky.
They arrived in Allegheny and docked at one of the privately-owned Mantis towers that rose from the rocky ground like oil derricks. The cargo was unloaded and Dice kept an eye on the illicit box until a pair of men arrived with the proper identification to release the crate Dice had snuck on board. One of them, a farm boy type with shaggy brown hair, eyed her left hand as he approached.
"You Airskip Bodger?"
"I am."
"Nathaniel King." He held out his hand, and she shook it. "I want to thank you for getting our cargo to us safe and sound. Anything we can ever do for you in return, let us know."
She nodded. "I'll do that." She started to let him walk away, but then a thought occurred. "Mr. King."
"Nathaniel. What can I help you with?"
Dice guided him away from the crowd. "The children who are taken by the government, who become wards. Is there any way to find out what happens to them?"
He considered the question. "Could be possible. I have a couple of people I could ask."
"Thank you."
"Sure thing."
Dice watched him return to his truck, his companion already done securing the package. Dice couldn't help but wonder what she had delivered to the men, but what was done couldn't be undone. She looked around the base of the docking tower for something to keep her busy until their load had been fully handed off.
The remainder of their assignment took them further south, across Allegheny, to pick up medical supplies for The Old Colony. Their communications officer received their orders to return to base for a change of personnel, and Dice knew Tesla's acolytes had succeeded.
She suffered through the typical rigmarole of updates and announcements from the Administration before the sergeant announced a change in officers. "Cargo Boss Matthias, you are now assigned to the Cavalry. Airskip Bodger, your new Cargo Boss will be Cecily Pike. She'll report for duty before your next departure." He checked the watch on the inside of his wrist. "Assignments will be posted at 0600."
Matthias was escorted from the hangar by most of her crew, taking advantage of the delay in assignments to give their friend a proper send-off. Dice went the other direction, taking as direct a route to the nursery as she could manage in the honeycomb of corridors. She paused when she reached the Newborn Room, drawn to the glass and resting her fingers against it like a moth batting against a light bulb. Apparently it was baby season, as there were three infants squirming and kicking against their swaddling with tiny mouths opened in cries muted by the glass.
I'm not a mother, Dice told the twinge in her chest. She lowered her hand from the glass and unconsciously began rubbing the nub where her small finger had been. Giving birth doesn't make you a mother any more than--
"Can I help you?"
The question had come from the speaker next to the glass, and Dice looked up to see a woman she didn't recognize watching her from inside the Newborn Room. Due to the added workload, five more Midwives were added to the Nursery rotation. The question had been sympathetic, not confrontational, and Dice realized her cheeks were wet.
"I'm looking for Peri Novak."
"She's with a mother at the moment. She should be available in about half an hour if you'd like to wait."
Dice agreed, and the Midwife came outside to escort her to a small waiting room.
While Dice waited, she took the doll from the inside pocket of her jumpsuit. The arms were limp, but plush, and she squeezed the body with disappointment. There was only so much stuffing she could swipe from the chair in her squat. The doll was plump enough, she decided. The face and hair were drawn onto the fabric, a gross approximation of a human face, and she brushed some lint away from the crown of the head.
"Candice?"
She stood and stepped into Peri's embrace. They kissed as only lovers separated for four months can kiss before they pulled apart. "I've missed you."
"I know." She held up the doll. "I... made you... this."
Peri frowned at the object until she realized what it was. "Oh, Dice..."
"It's just something I did to pass the time."
"It's amazing. Thank you so much." She kissed Dice again, clutching the doll to her chest as her other hand curled in Dice's hair. "How long are you here?"
"Until tomorrow morning. 0600."
"I'm on duty until 2100. You can take your things to my rooms and nap while you're waiting for me."
Dice smiled. "I won't have to kick anyone out?"
"Mm-mm. I've been alone since the last time you were here."
Dice was surprised. "Really? I didn't want that."
"I know. I did. I chose to wait." She smiled and brushed Dice's cheek with her hand, concern tainting her happiness as she rubbed her thumb and forefinger together. "Have you been crying?"
"No." She faked a smile and kissed Peri's cheek. "I'll wait in your rooms for you."
"Okay." Peri squeezed Dice's hand, then gestured with the doll. "Thank you for this. Knowing you worked on it while you were so far away from me, it'll be like having a piece of you with me all the time. Thank you, Dice."
Dice nodded. She would have been heartbroken if Peri had laughed or refused the gift, but she was somehow even more flustered in the face of genuine appreciation.
She let Peri go back to work and left the nursery by a circular route that kept her away from the newborns. She knew the way to Peri's room almost as well as she knew the path to her own quarters, and the space was just as familiar. She took off her jumpsuit and boots, leaving her in black pants and a collarless white dress shirt. She sat on the edge of Peri's bed, looked toward the kitchen and began debating a meal before her nap. Her next conscious thought was a realization that the bottom few buttons of her shirt were undone so someone could kiss her stomach. Eyes closed, she put her hands on Peri's head and guided her higher. Peri moved up and kissed Dice's breasts through her shirt as her hand moved to the gold buckle of her uniform pants.
By the time she was fully awake, her clothes were off. She took Peri into her arms and rolled her over, laying her down before undoing the buttons and catches of her uniform. Naked in each other's arms, Dice ran the flats of her palms over Peri's curves until they converged between her legs. She laced her fingers together with both forefingers extended, and used her hips to guide them forward.
Peri lifted her chin and Dice kissed it, moving down Peri's neck with gentle strokes of her tongue. Peri hunched her shoulders and lifted up to press her body to Dice's, one leg rising to press against Dice's sex. They moved against each other like dancers, limbs intertwined and bodies growing slick with sweat that made their movements easier.
As Dice thrust against her and into her, Peri ran her hands over Dice's breasts and then up to either side of her head. Their eyes met and Peri smiled as Dice ducked her head down for a kiss. She gasped against Peri's mouth and closed her eyes as she came, her body turning to steel as she rubbed herself against Peri's thigh. She pulled her hands back and stroked Peri's sex with her thumbs, getting them wet before moving them up to her clit.
She captured Peri's clit between her thumbs and stroked it as best she could given the awkward position. Peri closed her eyes, her jaw thrust forward so that her teeth were exposed as she writhed. Dice kissed her chin, nose, and eyelids until Peri cried out. She sagged to the mattress, pulling Dice down on top of her, and they kissed until they had regained the strength to do more.
"I've missed you," Peri whispered. She turned her head and kissed Dice's bicep.
Dice brushed Peri's chestnut hair away from her forehead. "Too many jaunts from one side of the country to the other. Not enough time at home." She rolled off Peri, who turned onto her side and let Dice spoon her from behind. Dice saw that the doll was sitting on the nightstand, smiling down at them, and she returned its smile. "At least now you'll have something to remember me when I'm gone."
"Mm. I love it. But it's nothing compared to the real thing." She turned Dice's hand over and traced the lines of the palm. "Where did you go this time?"
"Usual." She kissed the curve of Peri's neck and shoulder. "Allegheny, New Amsterdam, Seattle Alki..." Dice considered the next thing she was about to say, and kissed the shell of Peri's ear. "If I tell you something sensitive, will you keep it to your grave?"
"For you? Yes."
Dice moved her free hand to press against Peri's stomach. "I met some people in Newams. A group of people who, um, share... information."
Peri's hand stopped moving. "Information? Like... intelligence?"
"Yes."
The bedroom was silent. Peri rolled onto her back and took Dice's left hand between both of hers. "Be... careful."
"The bastards already took my son. I'm not going to risk them taking away the woman I love, too. Don't worry. I'll be safe."
"These people... I assume you wouldn't tell me about them unless you planned to see them again. Right?"
Dice nodded.
"What are you looking for from them?"
"I want..." She looked down, distracted for a moment by the curves of Peri's body. "I want to make them pay for taking my son. I want to get my son back. And these people are my best shot at doing that."
Peri looked down at their hands and pressed her lips together. "Uhm-hm. I just don't... want you to take unnecessary risks. I'm kind of fond of you, Bodger."
Dice smiled. "I'm keen on you, too. But you didn't have the benefit of a nap, and you've been working all day. We can rest if you--"
"I'll sleep when you're gone. Come here... kiss me again."
Dice kissed Peri, slipping her tongue across her lips. Peri moaned into Dice's mouth and, when she pulled back, whispered, "I didn't mean on my mouth."
"Oh." Dice shifted her weight and slid down on the sheets. "My mistake."
Peri grinned and spread her legs to give Dice room to lie between them.
#
Dice stooped to enter the cargo hold. The entrance was small, but the room was vast when empty as it was now. It ran the entire length of the ship, with compartments for fragile or sensitive cargo. A dark-haired woman in the regulation jumpsuit was crouching at the entrance to one of the compartments when Dice entered, and she glanced over her shoulder with disinterest before going back to her inspection.
"Cecily Pike? I'm Candice Bodger. Welcome aboard."
"Mm. Do you usually greet your new crew members so personally?"
Dice shrugged. "Depends on the circumstance."
"And what circumstances would these be?" She pushed herself up and turned around. The front of her suit was unzipped far enough to reveal a scoop-necked shirt stained with sweat and grease. There was a trace of a foreign accent under her words. She had thick dark eyebrows and a wide mouth that was just barely too big for her face. Her high cheekbones and dark eyes off-set the harsh planes of her features enough to make her exotic rather than unattractive.
"The circumstances that I've heard good things about your work. I look forward to working with you."
Cecily brushed her hands on the thighs of her jumpsuit. "Your previous Cargo Boss let things go to shit."
"Then I pity the crew of the Cavalry."
"Don't. I've met them." She looked toward the entrance and stepped closer to Dice. "And don't ask to see my tattoo, and don't ask what I've lost. Some of us are smart and don't want to get caught. I'm not going to lose something because my Airskip couldn't keep her mouth shut. Am I understood?"
Dice furrowed her brow. "I'm the captain of this ship, Cargo Boss Pike, and you will show the proper respect when addressing me."
"Am I understood, ma'am?"
"You are. Am I?"
They stared at each other for a tense, silent moment before Cecily allowed herself a small grin. "Yeah. Understood, Airskip Bodger."
"Good. I look forward to working with you."
She turned and walked away.
"Airskip." She stopped. "You lost a daughter?"
"A son. His name was Linus." She stroked her missing finger.
Cecily was quiet for so long Dice thought she'd gone back to work. Finally she said, "My sister was taken when I was a girl because of my parents' crimes. We were twins. Cordelia. Cordy and Cece. I volunteered for this position. I want to help you however I can, Airskip."
"You can start by calling me Dice."
"As you say."
"And we have occasional games of Six-Bones. If I'm playing, don't bet anything you don't want to lose."
Cecily scoffed. "Cocky bitch, ain't ya?"
"I'm not bragging. Just a friendly warning."
"Aye, Airskip."
Dice was glad she was facing away so Cecily couldn't see her smile as she left the cargo hold to begin preparations for takeoff.
V
Dead silence.
Dice stood in the short corridor below the cockpit, one hand gripping the leather strap so she wasn't knocked against the sides. Her crew was lined up behind her. She lifted her head just enough to see through the glass. The Rocky Mountains were still well below them, but if they drifted any further she would have to make adjustments to their bearing. And if she did that they might as well throw a welcoming party.
The other airship crossing to the south of them was larger. Its underbelly was strapped with baskets that held men armed with railguns. Pirates. The night was deep enough, and the two ships far enough apart, that they could be mistaken as a cloud by anyone who looked out of the other vessels windows. If anyone was even awake over there. Dice couldn't take the chance. A boarding would mean losing their cargo, captured men, and imprisoned women. Pirates, especially those in the Flyovers, weren't exactly known for their sense of due process.
After a handful of interminable minutes had passed, Dice moved up the steps into her darkened sanctuary. She stayed close by the windows so she could peer over and up at the other vessel. There were running lights along the hull of the ship, but it otherwise looked quiet. She didn't allow herself relief, not yet. They were still inside pursuit distance. She gauged how far they had left before she could power up and put a fire under their asses. Pirates rarely pursued when their victims had a head start.
Dice spotted them in the distance just before they reached the mountainous continental divide, a Behemoth in the air without broadcasting its call signal over the wireless. She switched off their running lights just in case, and silenced their own broadcast signal. She announced their situation to the crew, who powered down their own stations in anticipation of a drift. If it turned out they added a few hours to their mission while cowering from a friendly vessel, they would laugh about it at next landfall.
But if not... just in case...
She waited until the pirates were just a blob on the horizon, a slightly darker oval of black against the night sky, before she returned to the cockpit entrance. She used hand signals to indicate a return to power in three minutes. They would push the ion engines to full and she would track a course to the northeast as fast as their little ship could carry them.
The crew hurried to their stations. Soon the corridor was abandoned except for Dice and Cecily. In the past three months, they had grown to trust each other to certain degrees. Cecily was obviously a high-ranking member of the Ruffians and wasn't used to taking orders or deferring to anyone else's authority. She tended to disappear at base and on ports, returning minutes before they were due to launch without an explanation of where she had been.
Anyone else with such a superior attitude would have been kicked off Dice's ship the second they were somewhere she could draft a replacement. But Cecily was making the effort, and Dice could tell she would be a very handy ally to have in a tight spot. They compromised when possible, and Cecily was learning to ask permission before she vanished.
Cecily's plan for the pirates had been more drastic than Dice's. "We have the upper hand. We've seen them and they're asleep. I say we turn the tables on them. Disable their engines, zip over, get what we can take and leave them drifting. They would do the same to us, given the chance."
Dice refused to sink to their level and ordered Cecily to stand down. Now that the danger was over, she could see there would be hard feelings between them at least until the next stop in Willamette. Cecily shrugged as if to say it didn't matter, but her voice was flat and emotionless when she spoke. "You saved us."
"You win every fight you avoid starting."
Cecily nodded. "And what about the next ship that passes their way? What if they aren't as lucky as we just were?"
"You can't kill every shark in the ocean, Cecily. No need wasting resources if we can help it." She looked at her watch. "I have to restart the engines. Make sure you're secured in about ninety seconds. We're going to be hauling ass."
Cecily saluted. "I'll be prepared for the running-away, Airskip."
Dice bit back her own retort and returned to the cockpit, slipping into the seat and powering up her console. She found the engines ready for a quick burst, set their new heading, and felt her weight sink deeper into the padding as the ship responded. She hooked the receiver over her ear, angled the microphone down, and twisted to look back behind them.
"Navi?"
Their navigator, Abraham, hesitated before responding. She knew he was just waiting to be absolutely certain so their hopes wouldn't be unnecessarily raised, and she kept her hand still until his voice came over the speaker. Many past Airskips had pointed out the necessity of a pilot to do their own navigation, but the government refused to clear them for the knowledge. They had a rudimentary knowledge and a small display to handle immediate concerns, but they weren't allowed to know enough to chart an entire course for themselves. Finally, Abe spoke.
"Clear skies, Airskip. No pursuit."
Dice smiled and flipped on the intercom. "Sorry to interrupt everyone's evening with that bit of hide-and-seek. If it's any consolation, we won that round. We'll be arriving at Willamette in approximately three hours, so feel free to go back to bed or whatever debauchery I interrupted earlier. Clear skies, Tamerlane."
She took off the headpiece and tossed it onto the curved top of her console. She rubbed her face and exhaled sharply as she looked out at the mountains passing below them. Compared to what she'd seen earlier they seemed to be a blur of blue-gray stone and snow. She couldn't help hearing Cecily's voice in her mind, mocking her. We're definitely running now.
She'd never considered herself a coward, but watching the mountains fly by underneath her ship, it was hard to think of herself as anything else.
#
New Amsterdam's size and commerce meant that the Tamerlane was assigned there at least once every six weeks. During their overnight layovers, Dice and Cecily would claim a need for a girls' night out away from the testosterone of the ship and make their way to the Ruffians' headquarters. Dice finally got a full tour on her second visit to the house. The first floor parlor was reserved for dining and social gatherings, and nine times out of ten there were groups of fugitive Ruffians camped out in the parlor.
The library took up the entire second floor. Doorways had been cut into walls to change the floor into one continuous room all full of books.
The third floor had received the opposite treatments; four bedrooms, two on either side of the staircase and one directly ahead of it, had been separated into nine rooms of varying size. Dice noticed that space had been left so that all of the bedrooms could be reached without going through one of the others. Micah, who had assigned himself tour guide, smiled and said, "Things are cramped enough as it is... we need all the privacy we can afford."
He pulled a ladder down from the ceiling and let her poke her head into the attic. A small window let in sunlight in which motes of dust danced, giving the illusion of movement to the stacks of cardboard boxes and papers. She descended and rubbed the dust off her palms. "What happens if the police or government find out about this place?"
Micah led her back downstairs. "We have friends on the police force who turn a blind eye. But we do have contingency plans in the event of a government raid. Isaiah will do his best to keep them at bay on the ground floor while the rest of us scatter. There's an alley through the back that leads onto Broad Way. We have safe houses where we can lay low until the coast is clear."
"And Isaiah?"
"He volunteered to be the gatekeeper. He wants to give his freedom if it means even one of us gets away."
Dice didn't say anything, but she had a feeling an African man was risking more than just his freedom by fighting the police. They would shoot first and ask questions never.
Six months after her tour, she arrived to find the townhouse filled to capacity. Cecily put her arm around Dice's neck, obviously expecting the festivities but unwilling to explain them as she led Dice through the crowd. She found Paul speaking with a freckled, dark-haired woman in a snug red shirt. Cecily greeted Paul with a kiss on the scruff of his cheek.
"Heck of an Airskip you set me up with, Paul."
Paul looked at Dice and winked. "Everything working out?"
Dice braced herself for a complaint about the pirates, waiting to be called a coward, but Cecily surprised her. "I've never seen anyone so loyal to her crew. She'd lay down her life to protect 'em. She's a good addition."
"I knew she wouldn't let me down." Paul ended the conversation with his companion by brushing her arm and motioning for Dice to follow him. "Come on. I'll get you a drink."
Dice followed him through the crowd. "What the hell is going on here?"
"July Tenth." She had a vague recollection of the date being mentioned, but she couldn't remember the context. Paul took pity on her. "Nikola Tesla's birthday. We have a little shindig every year, as do other headquarters across the country."
"That's dangerous." Cecily's suggestion of volunteering the Tamerlane for this supply run to New Amsterdam suddenly made sense. "Aren't you worried about the police noticing heavy traffic in and out of the building? Or do your friends on the force take care of that for you?"
"If the government wants to stake out potential known headquarters, who do they use? The police. And we have enough badges on our side that we know if holding a celebration is safe or not." He stopped in front of a table of refreshments. "Have your choice. A dinner will be served at ten, or you can fill up on the hors d'oeuvres. Mingle. Get to know the people you've been risking your safety for, and who have been risking theirs for you."
Dice looked at him. "Risking theirs?"
He casually picked up some sort of ham appetizer and pulled it off the toothpick with his teeth. "We managed to get someone into Nursery to look at their files. Their adoption and almshouse records are, of course, insanely encrypted so it might take a while before we're even able to read them, let alone seek out a single specific child. But we're looking."
Dice was stunned. "Thank you. I didn't know you were doing that."
"Just because you don't have a tattoo doesn't make you less of a member." He winked at her. "You're a Ruffian now. Enjoy yourself."
He went off into the crowd and left Dice at the table to process what he'd just revealed. Of course they had promised to try finding Linus. But the confirmation, so casually given, that they'd been working while she was crossing the country with their smuggled goods was enough to rock her back on her heels.
She soon recovered and, as Paul suggested, began to move through the crowd. She was invited into conversations, learned about the people who were attending. One had traveled all the way from Arcadia, braving border patrols simply because the Newams meeting was the closest one he could find. Still others seemed to consider Dice a hero for her part, though she tried to play it down. They gasped in horror at her missing finger, and a few women embraced her with a promise to pray for her reunion with Linus.
She was overwhelmed by the time dinner was served. The room was cramped and stuffed full of tables, an effort to seat everyone that had unfortunately come up short. Dice took her plate into the parlor and ate with a group of men who had known Levi, and they shared stories about him over their food.
By the end of the night, Dice felt like a true member of their family. She was buzzed from the alcohol, feeling warm and welcome, and she eagerly accepted Isaiah's hand when he invited her to dance with him. The parlor had mostly cleared out by then, and there was plenty of room to cut a rug in front of the fireplace. Isaiah was dressed in a white shirt and tuxedo pants, his muscles straining the seams. Dice was drunk enough to run her fingers over the bulges, and Isaiah smiled as she feigned lightheadedness.
He kissed her, and she let him. It was a dance, after all. She made a promise to herself that she would stop him when it got to the line, and his actions were tentative as if he was only testing the waters. Finally, tired of his tentative explorations, she broke the kiss. "There's a line. I'll let you know when you get there."
Isaiah smiled and kissed her again with a bit more passion. She was feeling the line fast approaching, gauging by the new bulge fast taking shape against her hip, when a pair of slender arms ensnared her from behind. She turned to see who it was, and Cecily stunned her with a ferocious kiss. Dice's eyes opened wide as Cecily's tongue wormed its way into her mouth, and she was vaguely aware of Isaiah's lips on her neck.
She pulled away from her Cargo Boss, breathless, and put her hand on the side of Isaiah's head. "Wait. Stop."
"Stop? Now?" Cecily pressed against her. "And after all this talk of not being a coward..." Her hand slid under the waistband of Dice's pants and cupped one cheek of her ass.
"Cece," Dice said. "I'm serious."
The hand withdrew, and so did Isaiah. Dice was flustered, aroused despite herself, and took a moment to regain her bearings before she flashed an apologetic smile at them both.
"Sorry for the cold shower."
"It's fine." Cecily sidled past Dice and proceeded to drape herself against Isaiah's body. She looked over her shoulder at Dice, her hair covering one side of her face but leaving one eye unveiled to provide a look of sheer seduction. "Enjoy your night, Airskip Bodger. I know we will."
Dice leaned in and kissed Cecily, just to prove she wasn't a prude, and then kissed Isaiah goodbye. "Thanks for the dance. Sorry to switch partners on you."
"We'll make do." He put his arms around Cecily and began to sway his hips. The dance was similar to the one he and Dice had done, but with a much different energy. If Cecily had a line, Dice doubted Isaiah would cross it. She dropped onto the couch and watched them together, hypnotized by their movements and by the amount of illicit alcohol she'd imbibed. Seriously good alcohol. Better than the watered-down shit at the taverns.
She rested her head on her hands and watched as Isaiah sat down and pulled Cecily onto his lap. One eyebrow rose as she watched them. Just out in the open like this...?
A part of her wanted to join them, but a bigger part rebelled at the idea. Peri had remained faithful for four months. Dice felt she owed it to her to honor that commitment. She dozed off a few moments after Cecily's top slipped off her shoulders, feeling disappointment that she'd stayed awake so long just to miss the main attraction.