Quantum Dark: The Classic Sci-fi Adventure (The Star Rim Empire Adventures Book 1)

by R. A. Nargi

  The channel went dead.

  Chiraine and I looked at each other, but didn’t dare speak until Ana-Zhi gave us the ‘all-clear.’ I had no idea if we’d be able to pull this thing off.

  Finally, Ana-Zhi said, “What did you guys think?”

  “Hard to know,” I said.

  Chiraine said, “He’s going to try to screw us.”

  “Of course he’s going to try to screw us,” Ana-Zhi said. “But how?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. Couldn’t he just punch a hole in our hull with a kinetic torpedo, wait for us to die, and then come take the Kryrk?”

  Ana-Zhi tilted the shuttle’s bow down, making sure Qualt didn’t have a view of our undercarriage. “Naw, it would be too risky with the skiphammer.”

  We kicked around a bunch of different scenarios, but they all concluded with us dead and the Kryrk in the hands of the Mayir. And, we were running out of time.

  Ana-Zhi motioned at my father’s body. “We need to hide him. Or at least cover him up or something.”

  That was easier said than done, but eventually we managed to get the cargo netting around his body and secure it under the seats and behind some gear. If anyone searched the shuttle, they would find him, but it was the best we could do.

  It wasn’t long before a small, sleek launch emerged from the Vostok and headed our way. It was a newer model Estree orbital yacht and it was probably faster than the Freya had been. It certainly looked nicer.

  With a clang, the launch’s boarding tube latched on to our hatch. I checked my weapons. It would be insane to use a blaster in such close quarters, but my judder knife might be useful.

  Chiraine turned to me. Even though I couldn’t see her expression behind her visor, I knew she was worried.

  “It’ll be fine,” I said. “We’re almost through this—one way or another.”

  The shuttle’s controller module alerted us that someone had entered the airlock. Thankfully, there only appeared to be one person—although there could be more on the launch.

  “Everyone stay calm and let me do the talking.” Ana-Zhi floated from the cockpit to the main cabin and then looked into the airlock.

  “It’s Qualt,” she said. “And he doesn’t seem to be armed.”

  She released the interior hatch.

  “Knock, knock. Anyone home?” Qualt called, as he stuck his head into the cabin. He was suited up in an armored exosuit emblazoned with the Mayir sigil.

  “Well, well, well. Nice to see everyone. Is that you under there, Ana-Zhi?”

  “It is.”

  Qualt glanced in our direction. “And who do we have here, A.Z.? I was under the impression that the rest of your crew perished and you were all alone at this juncture.”

  “I might have exaggerated a bit.”

  “I see. Fair enough, fair enough. I’m guessing that the tall one is none other than Jannigan Beck, and the short one is Ms. Chiraine Portelle.”

  “It’s Dr. Portelle,” Chiraine said.

  “Well, excuse me, doctor. But, A.Z., isn’t she supposed to be the Shima spy?”

  “Again, a bit of an exaggeration. I felt I owe her something for helping me find the Kryrk, so here she is.” Ana-Zhi held up the artifact for Qualt to see. “Speaking of which…”

  He whistled. “Indeedy. This doesn’t look anything like what Yates brought me. May I?”

  Ana-Zhi handed the Kryrk to Qualt.

  “Would you look at that,” he said. “All those little swirly things inside.”

  “Yeah,” Ana-Zhi said. “Definitely not an engine part.”

  Qualt continued to study the artifact. Definitely taking his time about it.

  “Well?” Ana-Zhi said finally.

  “Well, what?”

  “Aren’t you going to do your geochron scan?”

  “No need, darling. I can tell from looking at it that this thing is old. Real old.”

  “Well, good. Let’s get on with it. The clock’s ticking. Jannigan can go with you and make sure that Yates and Obarral—”

  Qualt cut her off. “About that…”

  Uh oh. I didn’t like the tone of his voice. Neither did Ana-Zhi.

  “Qualt!”

  He moved a bit more into the cabin. “So I might as well be straight with you, sweet cheeks. I know Yates and Obarral are conniving assholes of the first degree. Hell, I am one hundred percent in agreement about that. And, despite my rhetoric about being a man of my word and all, I would have little-to-no hesitation about booting their asses through an airlock into the great beyond.”

  “Qualt!”

  But he just kept going. “The sad fact is, it’s not my call.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that I—like you—am but a hireling. Just a man on the job. The Mayir are the ones calling the shots. Don’t get me wrong. I ain’t complaining, but I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of what you call latitude in this situation.”

  I felt a flush of anger. This asshole was jerking us around.

  “Listen, Qualt,” Ana-Zhi said. “If you want this thing, we’re going to do it my way. Yates and Obarral on Bandala. We contact the Rhya—”

  “Let me stop you right there, darling. The whole Rhya thing? That could be a problem.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, truth be told, the wrigglies are no longer in the picture.”

  “What do you mean ‘no longer in the picture’? Spit it out, Qualt.”

  “Surely you noticed that for the past, oh, fifty or sixty hours, there hasn’t been any sign of the Rhya. No ships. No transmissions. Nothing.”

  I definitely had noticed that. I remember thinking that it was strange that there were no Rhya wardships up on Taullae.

  “What happened to them?” Ana-Zhi asked.

  Qualt shrugged. “Taken out.”

  “Taken out? How the hell do you take out an advanced civilization?”

  “Above my pay grade, sweet cheeks. I just pushed the button. But I’d suspect it was some sort of scidatium or another kind of virus. Probably tuned to their particular wrigglie bio-technology. At least that’s the way I’d do it.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

  “You expect me to believe that you took out all the Rhya in the system?” Ana-Zhi scoffed.

  “And the Fountain.”

  Several moments passed in silence. Ana-Zhi must have been as stunned as me. What Qualt was saying was inconceivable. He must have been lying.

  Finally, Ana-Zhi said, “I don’t believe a word of this. Even if you could, why would you take out the Fountain? You’d be trapped here—same as us.”

  “Not exactly. Listen, darling, I know this is a lot to take in. But suffice it to say that the original terms of agreement you and I had are impossible to fulfill. So what I’d like to do is make you a very generous counter offer.”

  “Go on.”

  “You hand over the Kryrk with a minimum of fuss and I put in a good word for you when the Mayir arrive.” Qualt looked over at me and Chiraine. “That goes for you two as well. Field Marshal Molda Prundt could use people with your ingenuity. You found the Kryrk, after all. And handled the Faiurae. That’s some impressive shit.”

  “Back up a second, Qualt. You’re not making any sense. What the hell do you mean ‘when the Mayir arrive’?”

  “While you were dicking around on Roan Andessa, we were deploying beacons to guide the Mayir’s armada here. As you know, A.Z., there are a lot more goodies tucked away on yonder fortress than just the one that you found. The Mayir decided they didn’t feel like dealing with the Rhya and their restrictive policies any longer.”

  I took a step back, like I had been punched in the gut.

  Chiraine couldn’t contain herself. “You can’t be serious! The Mayir are coming here? To loot Bandala?”

  “If I’m not mistaking, ladybug, you all did a bit of looting yourselves. Hell, that’s why we’re all here, ain’t it? The Mayir just want to get it done in one fell swoop. They’re all a
bout efficiency. Surely you see the sense in that.”

  It all started to make sense—in a twisted way. The Mayir expedition was never about finding the Kryrk or anything else. At least not directly. They were here to eliminate the Rhya and plant dark space beacons so the Mayir could find their way to the Hodierna galaxy and take over the system.

  No, not the system. They were here for Bandala—all the artifacts on Bandala.

  I looked over at the Kryrk, still in Qualt’s hands, and remembered what Chiraine had said about it being a weapon with the power to destroy planets. If the Mayir got ahold of the Kryrk, it would be game over. And who knew how many more Kryrk-level super weapons were hidden in Bandala? Even the Aanthangan clone bot was disruptive technology that no one had right now. The thought of a Mayir clone bot army chilled me to the bone.

  Whatever plan we thought we had was now pretty much obsolete. A quote from an old military guy popped into my head. No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy. That was definitely true. The only question now was…what the hell were we supposed to do next?

  21

  Qualt gave us an ultimatum—in his semi-friendly, swaggering kind of way. We could either surrender the Kryrk and join him. Or take a short walk out of the airlock.

  He sounded very cocky, but Ana-Zhi wasn’t having any of it.

  “Last I counted, there are three of us and one of you. Not to mention the skiphammer here.” She tapped the bomb affixed to the Kryrk for emphasis.

  “Your math is way off, darling. I count nine of us, and—”

  “Not right here, Qualt. There’s just you.”

  “Don’t matter, sweet cheeks. You know as well as I do that the boomer you got here is a fake.”

  Ana-Zhi started to protest, but Qualt cut her off with a raised finger. “Please, A.Z. Give me a little more credit than that.” He held up his wrist, which had some sort of device on it that looked like our Auras. “I brought a scanner, all right. And my density scan says that your so-called skiphammer is just a shell. I’ve got to give you props, though. It sure looks real.”

  “Fine,” Ana-Zhi said. “But there’s nothing fake about my HT4.” In a flash, she had her radiant blaster out of the holster and aimed at Qualt’s crotch.

  But he just bellowed with laughter. “Really, Ana-Zhi? Really? What do you think will happen if I don’t call in to my man Crex Chao in, oh say two minutes?”

  Ana-Zhi didn’t say anything.

  “This tub of pudding’s got no chance against the Vostok,” Qualt said. “You got nowhere to go. You know that. Can I be real with you for second?”

  “Whatever.”

  “Listen, you put up a good fight. You really did. I admire how you get shit done. Always did. But now’s the time to consider the benefits of a little cooperation. Know what I’m saying? I’m fine to shoot the breeze with you, banter, and negotiate. It’s all in fun. But the esteemed Field Marshal? He’s not such a fun guy. Not a fun guy at all.”

  Ana-Zhi took a step back. “So that’s what? Two threats in the space of sixty seconds?”

  “Call it what you will, A.Z. I’m just trying to be a human here.”

  “Is that what this is?”

  Qualt just shrugged. “I need a decision, darling.”

  “Can I think about it? Discuss some options with my crew?”

  “Sure you can. We have all the time in the world now there aren’t any wrigglies breathing down our necks.” He pushed himself down on the bench seat next to where I was standing. “Although don’t take too long. The Mayir are going to be here in less than forty-eight hours.”

  “I was kind of thinking of having a private conversation with my crew.”

  “There’s nothing to talk about,” I blurted. “We don’t have much of a choice, do we?”

  “Smart boy,” Qualt said. “Damn sight smarter than your poppa, in my humble opinion.”

  Every muscle in my body tensed as a bolt of anger seared through me. How dare that asswipe bring up my father?

  “Jannigan’s right,” Chiraine said. “We don’t have any other options. We’re running low on food and water and we’ve got nowhere to go. Plus, I know a lot about Bandala. The Mayir would appreciate that kind of knowledge.”

  “Always looking out for yourself, eh missy?” Ana-Zhi said.

  “Kid’s right,” Qualt said. “The Mayir know the value of smart folks.”

  “As long as they aren’t non-human,” I said quietly.

  “Okay, Qualt. You win.” Ana-Zhi took the Kryrk back from him. “But I’m handing this thing directly to Molda Prundt. I want him to know that it was us that found it and not you.”

  “Absolutely, A.Z. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I may have a lot of faults, but I am not a credit hog. So we got ourselves a deal?”

  “There is one last thing,” Ana-Zhi said.

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yates and Obarral.”

  “You are like a dog with a bone, darling,” Qualt laughed. “What about them? I already told you that I’m not authorized to terminate them.”

  “Just give me five minutes alone with each of them,” Ana-Zhi growled. “That’s all I’m asking.”

  “No can do, A.Z. You’re going to have to play nice. At least until the Mayir arrive. Then you can take it up with them.”

  Ana-Zhi protested and she and Qualt went back and forth for a while, but I knew it was just for show. What we really needed to do was get on the Vostok. And it turned out that Qualt was very accommodating in that regard.

  We had to surrender our weapons, of course. He didn’t trust us that much. But he did promise us all the food and booze we wanted. Plus he’d fly the Vostok over to where the dead hulk of the Fountain floated—just to prove that the Rhya were indeed out of the picture.

  “Lead on,” Ana-Zhi said. She had engaged the shuttle’s autopilot and programmed it to return to its landing bay on Bandala.

  That was a relief. I had been worried about what would happen to my father’s hibernating body while we were on the Vostok. I didn’t like the idea of the shuttle just drifting aimlessly. But soon my dad would be heading back to Bandala. And if all went well, we’d return there and pick him up soon. But if things went south, I don’t know. Maybe some future explorers might find him.

  As we made our way through the airlock, Qualt prattled on about how well stocked the Vostok was and how you could judge the quality of your clients by how much they cared about feeding the crew properly.

  “I don’t give a shit about your snacks, Qualt,” Ana-Zhi said. “I just want a bottle of Sark-Lhomas Black and a dark place to lie down for a few days.”

  “Can do, sweet cheeks. Mi casa es tu casa. Literally. I’ve got the best room in the joint. And it even has two beds if you’re not quite feeling frisky, if you know what I mean.”

  “Qualt!”

  “Hey, just putting it out there, is all.”

  Chiraine and I hung on to the cabin’s interior webbing in silence as the launch headed towards the Vostok. I felt naked without my blaster and judder knife. At least Qualt hadn’t taken our Auras.

  Qualt was in contact with his crew the whole way, jabbering non-stop, but I didn’t hear anything that sounded like a coded message to kill us all once we boarded. But who knew?

  “So that is a Lamprey?” Chiraine asked as we drew closer to the Vostok.

  “Sure is, little lady,” Qualt said. “It’s built on the body of a Barnes SL-900, but with a lot of upgrades. You want a tour?”

  “Maybe later. Why is it red?”

  “Actually, I believe the Mayir call their brand color ‘crimson,’ but you’ll need to ask them about it. I just captain the ship.”

  “Got it.”

  I tensed as the launch maneuvered into the Vostok’s shuttle hangar and the doors closed behind us. It was go time.

  “Home again, home again, jiggety-jig,” Qualt said.

  “Be on your best behavior, people,” Ana-Zhi said. “Remember, we are guests.”

 
“Yes, mom,” Chiraine quipped.

  “Well, thank you, A.Z.,” Qualt said. “I appreciate your sense of decorum.”

  He led the way through the airlock and mooring tube towards the hold, with Ana-Zhi next, then Chiraine. Before I followed, I walked to the back of the cabin and flipped the release lever on the launch’s emergency exit.

  Immediately a warning alarm sounded.

  “What the hell?” Qualt tried to push his way back into the launch, but Ana-Zhi and Chiraine weren’t budging.

  “Breach!” I yelled, pushing forward. “Breach!”

  Ana-Zhi, Chiraine, and I barreled through Qualt into the landing bay. Three of his crew were there with weapons drawn. They were dressed in deep red armored exosuits and all armed with Winton snubs, probably loaded with suppressor strands or tremblers. Prepared for us to cause trouble.

  What they weren’t prepared for was an Aanthangan clone bot, moving like a meteor through the airlock and into the hold.

  “Down!” I pulled Chiraine to the ground so she wouldn’t get caught in the crossfire.

  Bolts sizzled over our heads as the Sean bot cut Qualt’s men down with surgical precision. It was over in a matter of seconds.

  “Good work, JJ,” the Sean bot said. “But we need to move fast and secure the bridge.”

  “What about him?” I motioned to Qualt who lay unmoving on the ground. He had been pretty much trampled into oblivion, either dead or unconscious.

  Ana-Zhi said, “We need him alive. I still have a lot of questions about the Mayir.”

  While the Sean bot sealed the airlock, I quickly retrieved our weapons from Qualt’s equipment bag. Then I distributed them to Ana-Zhi and Chiraine.

  “Z, you come with us,” the Sean bot ordered. “Chiraine, stay here and keep an eye on the enemy.”

  “And this.” Ana-Zhi handed her the Kryrk.

  “Great,” she said. “I wanted some alone-time with this thing.”

  The Sean bot seemed to know where the bridge was, but he avoided the lift since it would be easy for the crew to trap us inside. Instead we climbed up an access ladder and snuck through the common room into the galley.