Of Men and Spiders

Lucy was playing this game at a severe disadvantage. It didn't matter how good you were at bluffing in poker if your opponent could see you only had one card in your hand, and she didn't want to reveal Charlotte's actual capability just yet, so it was time to add a few new elements to the game.

Once in the system, Lucy shut down the propulsion and vented the radiation from the jump drive into space, simulating a cracked containment field. She'd used This old trick on more than one occasion to lure in hapless victims. More often than not, she'd snagged some idiots, thinking they'd stumbled across an easy mark until the trap was sprung and the predator became the prey, but this time, she was fishing for a different kind of mark. She then activated a distress signal and went to work tearing apart the engine housing exactly how she would have if she'd been trying to effect temporary repairs, then waited.

Charlotte watched as she worked. Not for the first time, Lucy wondered just what was going on behind those unblinking eyes. She wondered at the sanity of placing so much trust in something so alien. Then she shook her head at herself. The fact of the matter was that Charlotte had repeatedly proven herself, often when she had little or nothing to gain and much to lose. Sure, she might be seeking ways to benefit herself and ensure her survival from their relationship, but it's not like Lucy was any different. Besides, when you've already entrusted your children's lives to the alien's care, it's a little late to start doubting them.

Eventually, everything was prepped and ready, so Lucy decided to stop and take a break. Cracking open some of the supplies, she grabbed herself a packet lunch. She'd eaten plenty of these in the past when aboard small, cheap ships incapable of maintaining fresh produce over long hauls. It was the standard meal of broke spacers everywhere. In the past, she'd always thought the food bland, borderline inedible, but after living on Charlotte's nutrient paste for a while, it was a welcome change.

Finally, Charlotte broke the silence they'd been working in. "Are you certain this will work? We are already near the limit of how far I can maintain my connection. If you are taken captive, I will likely be unable to follow or effect any sort of rescue."

Lucy shrugged and then took another bite of the nutrition bar she had. "Yeah, it's a risk, but even if I'm still in their system, it would be from decades ago. I doubt they'd recognize me now. On the other hand, if this works, we'll have added a wildcard to the game, and we need to force my father to split his attention."

Charlotte was silent a moment before speaking again. "A wild card? In the card games Alice has been teaching me, they can represent a variable to change the numeric value of one's hand. Scott has explained that card games have historically been used to determine a division of resources among humans. Will you play a card game against your father to win back your partner?"

Lucy stopped and looked at Charlotte for a moment. "You know, I'm never certain when you're earnest or just messing with me."

After a moment of silence, Lucy shrugged. "I supposed it doesn't matter in this case. In a sense, what we're doing is similar to playing a card game, but it's a bit more chaotic and a lot less fair. However, just like those card games Alice has taught you, the game is less about luck or even the cards in your hand and more about how you can play your opponent. Before I walked away from the pirating life, our relationship was nothing more than a series of contests and challenges, pitting us one against another in an attempt to prove who was the better player."

Charlotte seemed to process this for a bit. "But this is not how you've chosen to raise Scott and Alice."

Lucy shook her head. "No. Don't get me wrong, I think he cares for me in his weird, messed-up, overbearing way. I think our constant contest was his way of preparing me for life, and there were even some good times here and there. But despite it all, what I really wanted was a father, not an opponent." She sighed. "Not that I've always been that great a mother... Maybe I've judged him too harshly in the past, but that's irrelevant now."

Looking into the eyes of the weird spider creature Charlotte was using as her "face" on the ship with Lucy, the ex-pirate wondered what the alien would think of everything she'd just told her. What were relationships between parent and child like among her people? Did they even have relationships or just set their kids loose once they were developed? Did they keep in touch? Did they understand the concept of love, or was it all some cold calculation working toward greater chances of success and survival?

As she spoke, Charlotte's face revealed no answers. "What changed to render the past between your father and you irrelevant?"

Lucy stood up and threw away the wrapper her food had been in. "I grew up. Now I've got a family...one that I've hurt through my own negligence. I need to make what amends I can before it's too late. I don't have time for his games."

Just as Lucy was about to leave, Charlotte offered one last thought. "Maybe your father is trying to make amends of his own."

That made Lucy pause, but only for a moment. "Then he should have come and spoken to me like a father rather than trying to kidnap my kids like a pirate!"

As if to punctuate the end of the conversation, a hail came through over the speakers connected to the help. "Attention stranded vessel, this is Union patrol one-two-two-six responding to your distress signal. Please respond."

The message repeated as Lucy settled into the pilot seat to respond. Once there was a pause, she activated her mic to answer their hail. "Union patrol one-two-two-six, this is the Red Hind. You're a sight for sore eyes! My containment field cracked, and I had to abort mid-burst and dump the atmo in my isofield. I was able to repair the damned thing, but I needed a bit of a jump. Think you'd be able to lend a hand?"

After a moment's pause, the patrol answered. "Affirmative Red Hind. Prepare for docking."

Lucy waited patiently as the much larger ship connected. After a moment, a request to board was keyed through, which she approved. When the door opened, two marines and an officer were waiting, which she welcomed with a charming, if exhausted, grin. "Welcome aboard this pile of rust I call the Red Hind. It's definitely seen better days, but at least she'll keep us from being vented into space." She paused for dramatic effect. "I hope!"

The officer in question stepped forward. "Lieutenant Edwards, at your service, mam." Then, after looking around a moment, he nodded to one of the marines, who stepped back into the other ship a moment, only to reappear, escorting two engineers onboard while Lieutenant Edwards continued. "We should have you up and running in a few minutes, but I will need to do a quick inspection if you don't mind, Captain..?"

Lucy widened her smile and nodded. "Oh, just call me Lacy. I don't think driving this heap through space deserves the title of captain! And sure, look about to your heart's content! Though I should warn you, I'm carrying a bunch of bio-organic samples from the planet Lima three-two-seven...or is it three-two-eight? The forest planet! Anyway, they found some new bugs down there, and I'm shipping a bunch of them off for some egghead to study. They're kinda cute and pretty much harmless, but I thought I should warn you just in case you're squeamish about that kind of thing!" The Lieutenant's eyes glossed over until she mentioned the bugs. At that, he looked a little uncomfortable but still determined to do his job, which was just what she wanted.

While the engineers were doing their thing, the Marines looked through the cargo hold while Edwards spoke to Lucy. "Isn't this an Echo class shuttle? I thought those were more for loading and unloading vessels. Why are you using it as a freighter?"

Lucy smiled, patting the hull fondly. "Well, like you said, she's meant for hauling goods to and from a larger ship, but that ship is long gone. Ol Red here still hauls just fine, though. I just had to make a few small modifications, is all."

That was when one of the Marines called the Lieutenant over. "Sir, I think these are the organisms she was talking about."

Lieutenant Edwards walked over to investigate. As Lucy had asked, Charlotte had all her hands stored in one shipping container. She was intentionally crawling all over herself, making it so the number of eyes and legs looked even more overwhelming and creepy than usual. The Lieutenant paled. "Are you certain these are safe?"

Lacy nodded. "Oh, sure. They're perfectly friendly, see?" She reached in, and Charlott's voice appendage crawled onto her hand. As Lucy pulled it out, Charlotte crawled up her arm onto her shoulder. When it wasn't speaking, this one looked the same as most of her generic hands, like some weird spider with small pincers like a scorpion. It was a little bigger than her palm.

Lucy scooped Charlotte back into her hands and held it out to the Lieutenant. "Wanna hold it?"

Lieutenant Edwards backed away. "Ah, no... that's okay..."

That was when the other Marine spoke up. "Uh, Lieutenant... You might wanna see this."

Happy to be anywhere other than staring at the spider monster in the face, Lieutenant Edwards retreated over to the other Marine. Lucy put Charlotte back up on her shoulder and followed. The Marine was looking at a crate with a false bottom. He dug through it and pulled up a few bottles with smudged labels. "Sir, I believe this is Salmac; its trade is prohibited in core space."

The Lieutenant grabbed the bottle and inspected it before looking up at Lucy. "Care to explain?"

Lucy held up her hands. "I'm not trading in the stuff, I swear! That's just for my own private use. Something to take the edge off on these long voyages, that's all. You can see I barely have a half dozen bottles; that's not hardly worth smuggling!"

The Lieutenant looked back at the bottle and sighed. "But you had to trade to get it, which, as we stated, is prohibited. I'll have to confiscate the lot and process you on our ship, and you'll have to pay a fine."

Lucy nodded as if grateful. "Of course, of course! Consider it my gift to you as thanks for the jump! I don't have much on me in the way of credits, but I'll give ya what I got!"

Lieutenant Edwards stopped her. "Um, no, that's not... Listen. We have to confiscate the Salmac, but like you said, it's only six bottles. We'll let you off with a warning this time."

Lacy nodded again. "Thank you, sir! I appreciate your patience!"

The Marines were just wheeling the container with the Salmac off her ship when the engineers returned. "Ship's up and running!"

Lieutenant Edwards nodded. "Alright. Let's head out." Then, after turning to Lucy, he nodded. "Anyone brave enough to drive this pile of rust this close to pirate space deserves the title of captain, but next time, try not to bring illicit substances into our sector. I'd rather not have to explain why I've got confiscated goods without the appropriate processing paperwork again."

Lucy did her best lousy imitation of a salute the captain of the Red Hind might have performed. "Yes, sir! I'll be on my best behavior from here on out!"

The Lieutenant sighed and left Charlotte and Lucy alone on their ship again. Once the door was sealed, Charlotte finally spoke up. "Did everything go the way you hoped?"

Lucy nodded. "Yep! You had Lieutenant Edwards so distracted that he didn't even notice my father's tracking device hidden under the second false bottom!"

Then, after another moment, Charlotte returned back to an earlier subject. "Lucy, out of all the games you played against your father, how many would you say you've won?"

Lucy smiled as if in on a joke. "Not one!" Then, after a moment's pause, she brightened a little. "Now then, let's head back. I'm sure Scott would love a change of pace from the nutrient paste you've been feeding him!"