“Negative.”
“Didn’t you pick up the demon dude on your scanners?”
“Yes, but I had no way of knowing he would attack you. I can’t find him on the ship.”
“That doesn’t mean he isn’t here,” said Ella.
“If he was, I would see him. No one can hide from my scanners.”
“You sure about that?” I asked.
“One-hundred percent.”
“Then he must have beamed off the ship somehow.”
“Do you think he works for the grays?” Val asked.
“The assassin was a bounty hunter,” said Jules. “I’ve run his biological markers through the system. He was a Satrian named Vermisher.”
“How the hell did he find us?” I asked. “And how did he know who I was?”
“He must have received your biological markers from the grays.”
“I thought Orcag took care of that shit!”
“I’m sorry, Harry. I advise you to infiltrate the vault, acquire the artifact, and get out of there as soon as possible.”
“You want me sneaking around in the dude’s vault in the middle of the day?”
“You are in space. There is no daytime or nighttime.”
“You know what I mean. Malagag wants to have dinner with us tonight, and he could send for us at any moment. Orcag is just going to have to be patient.”
“One of us should stay behind and try to get into the vault,” said Ella. “The rest of us will keep Malagag busy.”
“Are you volunteering?” Val asked.
“I should do it,” said Purshia. “I’m the smallest and the most graceful.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said.
“Why not?” Purshia frowned. “You don’t think I can do it?”
“I just don’t think we should split up.”
“It is a good plan,” said Jules. “I can direct Purshia to the vault while the rest of you distract Malagag.”
There was a knock at the door. I hurried over and tapped the screen. It was one of Malagag’s thugs. “Yes?” I said into the speaker.
“Malagag would like you to join him for dinner at the Stardust.”
“Okay, give us a minute.” I returned to the girls, turning things over in my head. I didn’t like leaving Purshia to sneak around Malagag’s quarters, but neither did I like the idea of assassinating some warlord. We needed to get the job done and then blow this hotdog stand.
“So what’s the plan?” Ella asked.
“We’ll go with your idea.”
“Yay!” Purshia cheered and clapped.
“You be careful,” I said. “Watch your back, and if things get hairy, get the hell out of there. We’ll give you a few hours.”
“You can count on me.” She kissed my cheek and danced in a circle.
Ten minutes later Ella, Val, and I met with Malagag and his wife at the Stardust, which was basically a restaurant inside a glass bubble situated on one side of the ship. The view was spectacular, and it took a minute to get used to walking across the invisible floor as the universe sped by. I didn’t know how fast the ship was going, but it had to be warp speed or something, because the closest stars streaked by like comets with endless tails.
“Harry, Val, Ella.” Malagag stood to greet us. “Where is the beautiful Purshia?”
“She isn’t feeling well,” I said. “Too much sun this afternoon, I think.”
“She ate a couple of fish in the shallows that might not have agreed with her.” Ella laughed and put a hand on Malagag’s chest. “That crazy furball is always trying to taste everything.”
“Should I sent a medibot?” he asked, concerned.
“She’ll be fine,” I assured him. “She just needs to rest.”
We sat at a circular table with the best view in the house, and two servants poured drinks.
“This is twenty-year-old Argellian wine.” Malagag lifted his glass and swirled it, inspecting it against the light. Then he closed his eyes and his tongue darted out and waggled back and forth.
I did my best wine snob impression, holding it up to the light, sniffing deeply—hell, I even had the urge to put it up to my ear and listen to it just to seem legit. “What should we drink to?”
Malagag and his wife raised their glasses as well, and he considered my question for a moment. “To destiny,” he said at length.
“To destiny,” we repeated.
“Mm, this is good!” Val said sensuously.
“Only the best for my honored guests,” he said, eyes locked on her deep cleavage.
I leaned in conspiratorially. “You greeted us by our real names.”
“Yes.” He looked me up and down, then waved me off. “There is no need for you to hide your identities any longer. As long as we are working together, you have nothing to fear.”
“Harry was attacked by an assassin in the lavatory,” Ella informed him.
“What? Why didn’t you mention this sooner?”
“It happened less than an hour ago,” I said.
“That will not do. Can you describe the assailant?”
I told him what the demon looked like, but I didn’t mention how I knew he was no longer on the ship.
“Boracker!” Malagag yelled.
A short, stalky being with gray skin and two heads moved closer, and boy was he an ugly son of a bitch. “Sir?”
“I want a full sweep of the ship. Find the Satrian, and I want the phase shield inspected. No one should have been able to beam on or off this ship.”
You hear that, Jules?
I’ve informed Purshia of the development.
Is she in the vault yet?
No. I will keep you updated.
Boracker went off to do his master’s bidding, and Malagag shook his head and glowered.
“My deepest apologies, Mr. Warwick. I don’t know how a Satrian got on the ship, but rest assured you will have no more trouble while you are my guests.”
“Aren’t you concerned the grays know where we are?” I asked.
“That depends. Have you made a decision regarding my offer?”
“I don’t like to make big decisions on an empty stomach.”
He grinned. “Smart man.”
“Hey, any chance you’ve got a food replicator that can make an American cheeseburger?”
“Of course,” he said, and my heart leapt. “But I have asked the chef to prepare something special, if it is all the same to you.”
Damn! “I’m sure whatever you have in mind will be excellent.”
“Fresh caught red singer from the Tarlack ocean.”
“Sounds delicious,” said Ella.
“It is a shame Purshia could not be with us,” said Malagag’s wife. “Her kind love sea food.”
We dined on red singer, which tasted a lot like salmon. There was also black bread and vegetable sides that were surprisingly delicious. The conversation centered around our performance in the tournament, and Malagag went on and on like a fanboy about his favorite parts.
“When you caught that drogan with your grappling hook, I thought it would rip your arm off.” He laughed as he recalled my insane antics.
“Now that I think of it, that was pretty crazy,” I admitted.
“That’s what I like about you, Sheriff. You’re fearless.”
“Only maniacs are fearless.”
“Right you are, Sheriff.” He raised his drink to that and drank deeply of the exotic wine.
Any updates, Jules? I asked as I ate.
They are still scanning the ship. I told Purshia to abort. She is waiting in your room.
When the meal was done, Malagag eyed me intently. I knew what he wanted, and unfortunately I wasn’t in a place to say no. He had us in his clutches, and if I didn’t go along with killing the warlord, I knew he would find a way to make me do it anyway.
“We’ve considered your offer,” I told him.
He perked up and waited expectantly.
“We’ll do it, u
nder one condition.”
“Which is?”
“I want a food replicator that can create an American cheeseburger.”
“You work for me, Mr. Warwick, and I’ll get you the real thing.”
I recalled the stories from Earth of cows being eviscerated en masse in fields around the world and wondered….
“We have terms as well,” said Ella.
Malagag’s scaly brow lifted in surprise.
“We want one week to rest before we do the job on the warlord. It has been a long few weeks, and we’ve barely caught our breath.”
Smart girl.
“That is understandable,” he said. “But we are already on course for Cyriack.”
“What?” Val asked angrily.
“I knew the sheriff would say yes,” he said.
“That was presumptuous,” said Ella.
“You ladies can rest all you want, but I will need the sheriff’s special services when we arrive.” He turned to me with a look that dared me to argue. He was a salty bastard, and his mood seemed to change on a dime. Now that we’d agreed to work for him, his demeaner was slowly becoming less gracious.
“You said I could get to him because he wishes to meet me. How do you see this all going down? You just want me to pop the dude when I meet him?”
“Of course not. You will challenge him to mortal combat.”
I glanced at Ella and Val.
Here we go.
Purshia was waiting for us when we returned, and she had a grave look on her face.
“Is everything all right?” I asked as she approached.
“I failed,” she said, pouting. “They were scanning the stupid ship, and I didn’t have time to get into the vault.”
“Did you cover your tracks?”
She nodded. “Next time I’ll succeed.”
We told her about the conversation at dinner, and her expression became urgent. “Oh no, Harry, you have to fight him tomorrow?”
“It looks that way, unless Jules has a better idea.”
“I’m sorry,” she said in my ear. “Malagag has upped security and changed course. Orcag’s crew is doing their best to follow the cruise ship, but we may lose you.”
“What the hell does that mean? Will we still be able to communicate with you if you lose track of the ship?”
“No, but we know where you’re headed. If there is a gap in communications, it will be reinstated quickly.”
“Then I’ve got to go through with this?”
“It appears that way,” she said solemnly
“Harry is the strongest man in the galaxy,” Val said sincerely. “He will defeat the warlord easily.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” I went to the bar to pour myself a Vodskey.
“I feel terrible. If I had been successful, you wouldn’t have to fight that beast, Mox Zerrarri,” said Purshia.
“It’s not your fault,” I reminded her. “If that damn assassin hadn’t shown up, everything would have worked out just fine.”
“Why don’t we blast our way into the vault, grab the artifact, kill Malagag, and get out of here?” Val asked. “Why must we play these sneaky games? We have universal nanoarms. No one can stop us.”
“Despite your enhancements,” said Jules, “you cannot fight through all of Malagag’s guards. He has hundreds of drones inside the ship, and if you try to blast your way in, you will be killed.”
“Won’t the guards and drones be deployed after we sneak in and steal the artifact?” I asked.
“Yes, but by then you will have escaped in Malagag’s escape pod.”
“I thought he enabled some kind of shield that stops anyone from coming or going.”
“I will need some time, but I can hack into the system and turn it off.”
“Okay, Jules, you’re the super hacker genius.”
“Wait,” said Ella. “The nanobots can change our appearance, right? So why don’t you just make Harry look like Malagag? Then he can just walk into the vault and—”
“The biometric… sen… cannot… fooled,” said Jules.
“Jules, you’re breaking up.”
“… arry, stick to… plan… I’ll cont… when we’re close enough to….”
“Jules? Jules! Damnit.”
“Looks like we’re on our own,” said Val.
“We just need to sit tight until the Ardominus gets in range again.”
It had been a long day, and I had a serious case of interstellar jetlag. I took a swim in the pool, then hit the sack, which was about the last thing I should have done if I wanted rest. Purshia was so concerned about my fight against Mox Zerrarri that she clung to me like I was going to float away.
I soothed her fears by making love to her on the big bed that looked out over the vastness of space. When she came, she cried and held me tight, and I realized just how much I meant to her. Ella and Val didn’t wear their emotions on their sleeves as much as Purshia did, but I could tell that they were worried too. When I bedded each of them, the lovemaking was slow and sensual.
We passed out in each other’s arms, and despite the reality of what lay ahead of me, I slept like a baby that night.
I woke up before the girls and decided to get a workout in before the day began. While doing push-ups I realized if Jules wasn’t in range by the time I had to fight Mox Zerrarri, I’d be screwed. If he was as badass as he sounded, I was going to be hard-pressed to defeat him—even with my nanoarm. Likely he had special weapons of his own, and his race was known for their warring nature, which I figured meant he had been trained to kill since he was a wee Argellian lad.
I pushed myself to the limit for half an hour, then swam fifty laps in the pool. I didn’t want to work myself too hard, just enough to get the blood flowing.
As I floated in the water, staring at the passing stars, the lights brightened about 200 percent and a voice came over the PA.
“Attention! Attention! Hostile ships approaching. Quickly but calmly return to your rooms and await instructions.”
No sooner had the robotic voice finished the announcement than a huge ship the shape of a boomerang rose into view mere inches from the glass wall I was floating next to. Two huge guns unfolded from the ends and started to glow.
“Oh fuck,” I mumbled to myself.
Bap, bap, bap, bap, bap! The guns burst with laser rounds, and the window exploded. I didn’t know what the hell to do, so I did what came naturally, I dove beneath the water as it was sucked out into space.
That would have been the end of Sheriff Harry Warwick, but my nanosuit clicked into place on its own, and the next thing I knew, I was floating in the grand expanse of space.
Whatever propelled Malagag’s ship must have had a bubble-shaped gravity well, because rather than be left a million miles behind as the ships continued on, I floated among them as the stars streaked by.
I remembered the jetpack I’d seen on my interface and tapped on it. I felt a shift of weight on my back, and words appeared on my interface.
You have selected Hyper Jetpack.
Control manually or through your nanolink.
I selected nanolink as the ship that had blasted me out of the pool turned to take aim at me again. Five other ships were in the vicinity, some blasting away at Malagag’s ship, others speeding toward me.
Then I saw something that made me grin. My three women were flying toward me in nanosuits.
Nanolink engaged.
This is your default setting.
“Yeah yeah, tell me how to control the fucking thing!”
Control mentally.
I imagined myself speeding to the right, and to my surprise, the jetpack shot me in that direction.
Controlling a jetpack by thought might sound easy enough, but trust me, it’s a real son of a bitch to stay focused and not think opposing thoughts. Luckily I’d had some practice using such devices, and I managed to keep it steady enough.
“Harry! Are you all right?” Purshia said through small s
peakers in my helmet.
“I’m fine. Anyone hurt?”
“We’re okay,” said Val.
“Look out!” Ella warned.
The V-shaped fighter craft fired again, and I did a barrel-roll to get out of the way and joined the girls as they flew in a circle to the back of the craft.
“Let’s see how that ship’s hull stands up to our laser swords!” I said and sped toward the craft.
While Nanosuit is enabled, you can select a left-hand nanoweapon.
Would you like to select one now?
Well hell, yeah!
“Enable left-hand nanoshield!”
A blue nanoshield burst from the back of my left wrist, and it came up just in time. Rear gunnery stations popped up out of the back of the fighter as we raced after it, and the barrels flashed laser rounds. I flew behind my shield, urging my jetpack to go faster as the lasers rounds ricocheted off it.
It shot me forward at breakneck speed, and I swung at the turret as I passed. My laser sword sliced right through it, and I continued along the hull, slicing through it as I sped past.
I turned and watched Ella, Val, and Purshia fly past. They sliced through the ship as well, and although we were like sparrows attacking an eagle, we did enough damage to send it off course.
The fighter spun out of control like a broken boomerang, then it hit the boundary of the gravity well and disappeared.
The other fighters turned their attention to us, but luckily we were small targets and could maneuver much faster. I led the women around and behind one of them as it tried to intercept, enabled my grappling hook, and fired.
The hook attached itself to the cockpit, and I quickly adjusted my course and reeled myself in. When my boots touched the glass bubble of the cockpit, a demonic black face stared at me in utter astonishment.
I switched my left-hand shield to a laser sword while I held onto the grappling hook cable with my other hand, then sliced through the glass bubble, yanked the pilot out, and pitched him into space.
Val launched a nanobomb at him, and he exploded into a million pieces of bloody pulp.
Warwick: Episode 2: Galactic Fugitives Page 6
