by Jay Allan
“She’s good.” Durango sounded a little uncomfortable, and he twitched in his chair a few times.
“You’re worried about her. You have some doubts about sending her and her people to Aquellus…and I don’t mean the kind of doubts I’ve got, about whether she can get the job done.” A pause. “You like her.”
“She’s a good kid. I know ‘kid’ is a strange thing to call a ship captain, but she is awfully young. I checked her out thoroughly last time, though, and she’s legit. She’s been through a lot. A mean a lot. She’s from Vulcan City on Parsephon. From the Gut. She pulled herself out of there, and made it all the way to Dannith. She deserves better than to end up face down, floating dead in some Aquellian ocean.”
“The Gut, eh? Worst shithole in the Confederation. A scandal, and a blight on what we like to think we stand for. So, she made it out of there? That means she’s tough, for sure, and it makes me a little more confident. But Sector Nine’s after this prize, too, Durango, and they’re ahead of us. That’s a lot, even for a wildcat from the Gut, to handle.”
“She’s dealt with Sector Nine before, too, and she came out on top. I know. We fixed up her ship, and I can tell you firsthand, she and her people made it back after one hell of a fight. I wasn’t sure at first we could even repair the thing.” He was trying to hide the emotion in his voice, but he suspected he wasn’t managing it as well as he would have liked. “I’m telling you, she’s the best we’re going to get to make this run. Maybe the best out here overall, though it will take some time to decide that. I’d bank a year’s pay on Andi at least doing everything possible to complete the mission. I’m more afraid she and her people will end up dead out there than I am they’ll bolt and come back here with their tails between their legs.”
“They’re tools, Durango, don’t forget that, assets we use when we need them…and ones we expend when we have to in order to accomplish our objectives. Don’t get emotionally involved. You have to stay focused, or you’ll lose yourself. The artifacts we suspect are out there are worth a fortune. I’m more concerned about her realizing the value and keeping it all for herself. If she finds out what that stuff is really worth, we’re going to have to pay her more than half a million, I’d wager, a damned sight more.”
Durango shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. She shook my hand and gave me her word. You may laugh at me, but I believe her. Even if she finds out the haul is worth half a billion or more, she’ll honor the deal she made. You just watch.”
The man shook his head slightly, but then he stopped. “I’ve never known you to have too much faith in people, Durango, so we’ll go with your gut on this one. It’s not like we’ve got a choice, anyway. None of the other major prospectors are desperate enough to take this job now…so Andi Lafarge is what we’ve got.” He paused for a few seconds, and then he continued, “We can’t let Sector Nine find these artifacts, not with tensions so high with the Union. There’s going to be another war, and probably soon, and if this Andi Lafarge and her crew are the price we need to pay to help keep the Union from winning that conflict, then it’s a cost we have to accept.” There was a grim finality to the man’s tone.
Durango hesitated for a moment, but then he nodded grudgingly. He didn’t speak right away, but when he finally did, he said simply, “I just think she’s one of the good guys, deep down under that rough exterior and all the bravado. I’ll send her, you know I will, but I’m rooting for her to make it.” A pause. “And, I’m going to make sure she’s got everything she might need, all the gear that might come in handy, and a bit more thorough a checkup than she’s expecting on that old ship of hers.”
Chapter Five
Samis Station Three
Orbiting Ventica VII
Year 302 AC
“What is all this?” Andi stood in the bay next to Pegasus, pointing toward a pair of cargo lifts as she spoke.
“Some equipment you might need on this trip.” Durango paused, catching the concerned look in Andi’s eyes. Then he added, “It’s all on me…as are your ship upgrades.”
“Upgrades? I thought you were just going to check things out and refuel her.”
“Yes, well, I thought some additional items might be of some aid on the trip. First, we pressure coated the hull. Aquellus is a water world, and you may have to operate in one of its seas. Anything that keeps out the vacuum of space should keep out water, of course, except that, if you have to function at any significant depths, the pressure becomes a consideration. Pegasus is a sturdily built old ship, without question, but the coating will increase hull integrity by fifty to sixty percent. That should allow you to function one and a half kilometers below the surface, even two, two and a half in a pinch. We also installed baffles around the engines, which will aid your maneuverability in the water. And we stocked your emergency kits with a special sealant in case you get any breaches in the hull. It’s stronger than the usual stuff, again, just in case pressure becomes a serious problem.”
“Thank you. That is…appreciated.” Andi’s thanks sounded genuine, but it was still clear she was uncomfortable with the idea of prowling around some alien world’s oceans. And the fact that Durango was springing a whole bunch of free equipment on her could only inflame her concerns.
She won’t worry about the oceans so much if she runs into Sector Nine out there. Few things drove away concerns faster than deadlier problems.
“There’s something else…something I probably should have told you before.” But I didn’t want to risk you’re backing out on me. “There’s a chance, a small chance…” If close to one hundred percent can be called small. “…that you might run into a Sector Nine team out there.”
Andi was clearly trying to hide her fear and her concern…but it slipped out anyway. So did the fiery rage that shone from her eyes. He wasn’t sure if she was feeling hesitancy to mix it up again with the Union spy agency…or a thirst for Sector Nine blood.
Probably both.
“Sector Nine…” Her words dripped venom. “You checked out the weapons systems, too, I hope.”
Durango had dealt with all manner of frontier brigands, but something in Andi’s voice gave him a chill. “Yes, of course. All fully operational. We added a bit, too. You’ve got a dozen torpedoes now. Pegasus doesn’t have tubes, of course, but we managed to rig an ejection system in the cargo hold. It makes targeting a little tougher for sure, but the torpedoes are self-guided anyway, so it’s not that much worse in the end.” A pause. “They pack a punch, Andi, far more than your lasers. They’ve got fusion warheads, and against the kind of craft you’re likely to encounter out there—even Sector Nine ships—you won’t need a direct hit. Anything within a couple hundred meters will be devastating, and you can cause significant damage from as far out as a kilometer in space…and a lot farther out in an atmosphere.”
Andi was nodding, but Durango could see she was still processing it all. He knew her well enough to guess that her mind was recomputing the projected danger of the mission. And very likely revising the total sharply upward.
Still, half a million was a good sum, though he’d have gone to a million if she’d really pressed him. The fact that she hadn’t testified to just how preoccupied and desperate she’d really been.
“Thank you, again. Let’s hope we don’t need those.” Her tone suggested she assigned exactly a zero probability to that. “But it seems like you’re trying to tell me you’re sending us right into a fight.”
“No, Andi…not at all.” He paused. He didn’t like lying to her. “But better to be prepared than not prepared. We’ve uploaded all the specs and data sheets we have on the facility. We can’t be sure about much of it, but we’ve had half a dozen expeditions searching for it, and every clue they’ve managed to find pointed to Aquellus. We’re as confident as we can be that it’s there.”
“Half a dozen missions?” Andi stared quizzically, but she didn’t ask anything further. Her discipline only increased Durango’s opinion of her, and inflamed hi
s regret at sending her into such a dangerous situation. He wanted to believe Pegasus would succeed and return, but he felt his initial estimate of eighty percent—a number born of far more hope than cold analysis—melting away like a block of ice on a hot day. He was down to 50-50, and struggling to hold there.
She is good…don’t forget that…
“Yes, half a dozen. Seven actually, though none of those had the pre-mission data you do, or the armament. We’ve got a considerable investment in finding the place. Your data files will open automatically when you get to Aquellus, and you’ll know more than. I’m sorry for the secrecy, but it wasn’t easy getting the data we have, and we have to be careful with it.”
“Of course. I understand completely.”
She might understand, but she’s edgy about it, that’s clear enough. Good…if she wasn’t scared, she’d be a fool.
And no fool is coming back from this mission.
“You had a chance to see your shipmate again?”
“Yes, she seems to be doing…very well.”
Durango understood the hitch in Andi’s response. Yarra was recovering, but as he’d warned Andi, it was going to be a long process, and in the interim, the truth was, Pegasus’s engineer looked like death warmed over.
“It’s a relief to know Yarra is here and not in some hospital in Port Royal City. She’ll be…”
“Safe here? Absolutely. Samis has understandings with all the factions on Dannith. We’re neutral ground, and everyone will respect that.” A pause. “It’s been thirty years since anyone’s violated our status, and almost no one even remembers that poor bastard’s name.”
Andi nodded, looking reasonably satisfied. A few seconds later, she said, “If we don’t come back…”
“You’ll still earn the hundred thousand…and I’ll see that your shipmate gets it. But you’ll be back. I wouldn’t be sending you if I didn’t believe that.” A stretch of the truth, certainly, but a statement with a kernel of fact in it.
“One more thing…” Andi paused. Clearly, she didn’t like asking for help. “I have some experience knocking around the engineering space, as does my shipmate, Barret. But if we run into any real trouble, Barret’s our best gunner, and we’ll need to be ready to deal with any battle damage.”
Durango could see the pain in Andi’s face at the thought of replacing Yarra, even temporarily.
“You need an engineer.” Durango was silent for a moment. “I’d try to get one of my people to go with you, but you really need a ship’s engineer and not a shipyard technician. It’s a different skill fixing a ship with bits and pieces of parts in the middle of nowhere and having a fully-stocked warehouse at your disposal.” Another pause. “I know someone, Andi, someone good. Really good. But there are two problems.”
“Solvable ones?”
Durango shrugged. “Well, first, he’s on Dannith, down in the District, though I suspect you can manage to sneak in and out without alerting Carmichael and starting a full-fledged war down there.
Andi stood stone still. Durango didn’t question her confidence in her ability to get in and out of Port Royal City without Carmichael finding her. The challenge would be doing it and resisting the urge to try to find her enemy herself. She had an iron will and good self-control, Durango was sure of that. But she had one hell of a temper, too.
“I’ll manage. Carmichael’s an imbecile.” A pause. “What’s the second problem?”
Durango hesitated, just a few seconds. Then he said, “Well, he’s an incredibly gifted engineer, he really is…but he has a little bit of a drinking problem.” Another pause while he tried to get a read on Andi’s reaction. Her face was like stone, impassive, unreadable.
“I can tell you where to find him. His name is Lex Righter.”
* * *
“Are you sure? All of you?” Andi stood on Pegasus’s bridge. The small space was crowded when the three stations were occupied, and now it was packed with all of her people. “This mission is likely to be a rough one. I don’t know everything I’d like to…but there’s some chance we might run into Sector Nine again while we’re out there. You all know what that means.”
Andi had been worried about the mission since the moment Durango had opened his mouth about it, but she’d gotten even more nervous when she’d inspected the torpedoes he had provided. They were military grade. Hardcore, the kind of thing a battleship might carry, or at least a cruiser. She decided nothing the ‘shipyard manager turned up would surprise her, but she didn’t even want to guess what they’d cost.
Or how illegal it was to have them in Pegasus’s hold.
Concerns like that quickly gave way, though, to the question that drove her to call her people to the bridge. How the hell dangerous is this mission?
“I mean it.” She’d waited for a few seconds, but no one had spoken up. “I won’t think less of anyone who wants to stay behind. Durango has agreed to let you stay on Samis until there’s less heat on Dannith.” She almost wanted some of them to stay. She’d likely need every hand she had to get through what was ahead, but she also knew, from firsthand experience, what she would feel like if one of them—or more—died following her. She didn’t fool herself. They were only going on such a dangerous and uncertain mission because she’d crewed up with Carmichael, and they’d lost their goods from the last expedition. It was her fault they were so desperate, at least that’s how she saw it.
And those who came now would be following her toward a deadly threat.
“I’m not going anywhere except right here, Andi. And I don’t think anyone else is, either. We’re with you…all the way.” Vig Merrick’s voice was loud, his tone strident. He was full of the kind of instinctive confidence—cockiness—that bubbled up as a side effect of youth.
You’re almost as young as he is…
She was in years, maybe, but not in experience. She’d seen things as a child in the Gut, things that would make combat veterans break out in a cold sweat.
“Vig’s right, Andi…you can’t possibly think we’re going to let you go out there without every one of us at your back.” Gregor’s voice boomed loudly, the ducts running along the ceiling almost rattling from the impact.
Andi appreciated the support, but she was concerned that Vig’s and Gregor’s comments would silence anyone who’d been considering staying.
Who are you kidding? None of them would stay. They’re following you, going because you’re going. If they get hurt—killed—it’s on you. The captain left you the ship, but he left you something more, something hard to bear sometimes.
“Thanks, all of you. Really. It means a lot. And if we can pull this off, it’s a big payday…without the risk of having to fence contraband to untrustworthy people like Carmichael.” Her failure with the District gangster had taken money out of everyone’s pocket, and it was the reason they were about to jump into a shadowy mission with so little in the way of specifics.
The fact that there had been no one more reliable than Carmichael who could handle the kind of stuff they’d brought back was irrelevant, as was her realization that she had done all she could to ensure the success of the transaction. At least in moments of self-flagellation.
“We’re ready, Andi. Let’s get going…there’s some imperial swag out there with our names on it.” More of Vig’s youthful enthusiasm.
“We’ll get started soon enough, but first, we’ve got a stop to make.” A pause. “We’re going back to Dannith, to the District.” She’d been cocky with Durango, but in truth, she figured getting in and out without alerting Carmichael was roughly a coin toss. He was a fool in some ways, but his connections snaked all through Port Royal City and the spaceport.
But rushing out into the Badlands—into a possible fight with Sector Nine—without an engineer aboard seemed like a worse bet. Maybe a lot worse.
“The District? But…”
“I know, Jackal…I know. But there’s somebody there we need to pick up, somebody we’ll need for this mission. Yarra
’s going to be in the hospital for a good bit, and somebody’s got to be down in engineering keeping the ship running.” Her mind was already racing, trying to figure out just how she could bring Pegasus in without it showing up in the docking records.
Translation: Who she could bribe?
She looked down at the floor, and in her mind’s eyes, she saw the bag of coins sitting in the ship’s secure safe. The ten thousand Durango had given her upfront.
And she wondered how much of that it would take to slip into Port Royal City for long enough to find Righter…and to somehow convince him to join the crew.
Chapter Six
O’Rourke’s Saloon
Spacer’s District, Port Royal City
Planet Dannith, Ventica III
Year 302 AC
Andi stood just inside the door, her eyes scanning the room. For an instant, she thought she must be in the wrong place, but her memory had always been razor-sharp, and she was sure this was where Durango had told her to look.
This is a worse shithole than Carmichael’s dump…
Andi had seen her share of dive bars in the District, but O’Rourke’s was a strong candidate for the worst of them all. She could see from the scratches and gouges on the walls—and the patched together look of the furniture—that O’Rourke’s saw its share of blood on the floor.
Probably every night.
No big deal. You’ve seen enough places where they sweep up the eyeballs at night…and every one of them looks like a resort next to the Gut.
Still, her hand moved slowly over her coat, her fingers running over the outline of the pistol holstered under her shoulder. O’Rourke’s didn’t even make an effort to keep out weapons, a concession to reality she found strangely comforting.
She walked up to the bar. There were about a dozen people at the large wooden slab, most sitting, with a few standing behind waiting for drinks. There were at least another twenty at the rickety tables spaced out across the room. A quick glance confirmed that most of them were in at least a reasonably advanced state of inebriation.
