“Dammit, Danny! I don’t need your help crashing. I’ve got this all taken care of myself. Why don’t you see if you can raise Cass on the secure channel? Surely she’s heard something by now. And maybe change out of those coveralls while you’re at it.”
Danny gave his brother one last withering look before moving through the ship to the communications console. They’d been waiting for a ping from Cass on their private channel for days, waiting for the one last piece of information that would help them accomplish their lifelong mission to destroy Dr. Mags, the woman who had torn them from their family and changed them forever into monsters.
Danny brushed his dark, disheveled hair from his eyes and began searching for Cass’s frequency. Both of the Williamson brothers were incredibly good-looking, but while Danny was tall and rugged, Sean was shorter with spiky blond hair. They didn’t share much beyond their chiseled jaws, steely gazes, and the occasional willing partner. Their temperaments as different as night and day.
*
“Hey, is this fan fiction? Fan fiction doesn’t count as a real story,” said David.
Jackie rolled her eyes. “Yes, it does. This is a totally original story that I wrote.”
She continued.
*
Danny found Cass after a couple of tries, connecting to her frequency with little trouble. He was the brother that could fix any technical issue. It was Sean who could fly them out of a tight situation, though. However, the asteroid belt was giving even him trouble.
“Danny! Where are you guys?”
“Alderus asteroid belt. Outrunning a pack of the Corporation’s Leviathan cruisers. You got any news for us?”
“I do. Big news. There’s something going down with the Corporation. Can you and Sean meet me on Finicus Prime in two days?”
Another asteroid scraped across the hull, causing the ship to lurch and Sean to curse loudly. Danny cleared his throat. “That might be difficult, but we’ll do our best.”
“Great! See you then. Oh, and Danny?”
“Yeah, Cass?”
“Tell Sean that we have unfinished business,” Cass said, her voice getting husky. “Of course, you’re welcome to join us as well. I know you’re a fan of teamwork,” she said before signing off.
Danny signed off as well before yelling to Sean in the front of the ship. “Cass has something. You think you can get us to Finicus Prime in two days?” He didn’t mention Cass’s very welcome invitation. No need to distract Sean any further.
“Oh, sure! Because it’s not like I don’t already have enough miracles to work,” Sean said.
Danny took that as a yes and headed to the engine room to make sure that the ship would actually get them there.
*
Finicus Prime wasn’t the kind of station anyone ended up on by choice. A backwater satellite light-years away from shipping lanes and proper technology, it was the kind of place smugglers and freaks landed to grab supplies or sell hot merchandise or find a quick hookup.
It was the kind of place the Williamson brothers loved.
“I’ll have a bacon cheeseburger and a berry pie,” Sean said, leaning back in his chair.
“Um, tossed salad and vegetable protein loaf, thanks,” Danny told the order droid. The bot trundled off, and Sean snickered.
“What?” Danny asked.
“It isn’t alive. You don’t have to be polite.”
“No one knows exactly how much they know. There’s no reason to be rude,” Danny said.
Cass slid into an empty chair without a word, laying a clear diskette on the table. “Danny is right. Studies have shown that bots are twenty-three percent more accurate when they’re treated like a person.”
Sean sighed heavily. “Cass.”
“Sean. Danny. Story is that the Corporation is up to something new. Something bad. This disk outlines everything I know.” Cass flipped her dark hair over her shoulder and looked around the food counter. “It isn’t looking good, though. There’s something afoot. Something bad.”
“We got it, Cass. We’ll take care of it,” Sean said just as his food arrived.
Danny nodded. “It’s what we do.”
Cass leaned forward, her breasts heaving, nearly escaping the top of her shirt. “So when are you boys going to take care of me?”
*
“This is literally the plot of a Space Howl episode. I saw this one. They end up going to some planet and stealing a vial they think is the antidote to their werewolf disease, but it’s really a serum to help farmers grow crops on some small planet. They end up giving the serum to the scientist working for the farmers so they can grow crops,” said David.
“It’s sort of like that, but different,” Jackie said, chewing at a thumbnail until it bled.
Tino rolled his eyes. “No way she gets to win for something she stole from TV.”
“Really?”
Several folks nodded.
“Okay, fine.” Jackie took her hair down and readjusted her ponytail as she spoke. “So, since no one wants to listen to my Space Howl story here’s another one. This is a story my dad told me when I was a kid. It was always my favorite tale.”
*
The city?
The city. Well, it changes you.
When my brothers and I went there we were just a bunch of kids, fresh-faced and full of dreams. We had no clue how the world worked, and no way we ever thought we’d end up how we did.
Mostly, I never thought I’d end up like this. Broken and broke, not a penny to my name. I’ve done terrible things. Things I’m not proud of. I’ve hurt people and ruined lives. And I did it all for them.
My brothers.
The three of us were all born on the same day. Triplets. Maybe that’s why we were always so close. We were united by blood and a birthdate.
More on the blood later.
Phillip was first, and he came into the world squealing at the top of his lungs. Wee, wee, wee. They say he didn’t shut up until our mother put her teat into his mouth.
Next was Peter, who was so big that our mother labored for over an hour just to push him out. He didn’t say a word as he lay there in the straw, waiting for Ma to tend to him. He just looked around, taking everything in, silent and stupid. More than one man would underestimate him because of his big, lumbering quiet.
I was last. Paul the Runt, smallest of the litter. I didn’t squeal, and I wasn’t large enough to remark upon. I was completely unmemorable, an afterthought to the birth of my brothers.
And so it went. The three of us grew up in a small town, and we each gained a peculiar sort of notoriety. Phillip was the talker, the guy who could charm a girl out of her bloomers or a friend out of his pocket money. Peter was big, and those who messed with him quickly discovered that it was a bad idea. And me? I was the thinker. I could sit back and find a solution to any problem. Chances are I could have been a scientist or something else prestigious. Maybe a doctor.
Maybe. If Peter and Phillip hadn’t been my brothers.