Ronin

by Jan Domagala

  Stryder watched the craft come hurtling towards the quarry from high above, taking a keen interest in how it was handled upon approach. He hoped to learn as much about his adversary as was possible and seeing how he handled the shuttle, the aggressive way he brought her in to land, told him he liked to prove he was in charge. Perhaps Stryder’s latest comments had rattled him slightly.

  The door to the shuttle slid open revealing the aft section. No one was visible even to his enhanced vision, which meant that Norsky had reneged on his end of the bargain.

  “Where’s Hardy?” Stryder shouted.

  Norsky appeared in the doorway with gun in hand.

  “Lose the gun Captain,” he commanded, his gun hand steadily keeping the pistol aimed directly at Stryder’s chest. At that range he could hardly miss.

  Reaching behind him Stryder brought the Sig into view.

  “Slowly Captain, you don’t want to make me nervous now do you? That way you’ll never get to see the young lady again,” Norsky said.

  “Where is she? You said if I came alone you’d let her go,” Stryder said striving to contain his anger.

  “And I will, the moment you and I are safely away from here.”

  “So you’re going back on your word then.”

  “Come now Captain, are you trying to tell me that if the roles were reversed, you would give up your insurance at the first opportunity? I think not, and by your expression I know I’m right. So, we go to my ship and I send her back down in the shuttle. That way you get to see her and know she’s okay, and I get what I came for, so we’re all happy. Now toss the gun.”

  Stryder did as he was told and waited for the next command.

  “Slowly, come towards me.”

  Stryder thought about trying to jump him, wrestle the gun from his hand and take control of the shuttle, but he had no idea where his ship would be. Whether it would be cloaked, if there would be anyone else on board guarding Hardy, or any of the other variables that could endanger both their lives, so he decided to go along with him for the time being until he could get a better picture of what was going to happen. Then hopefully, he could come up with some sort of counter measure.

  THE OP’S OFFICER SAID, “Sir, a shuttle has just come out of the authorised lanes and landed near Captain Stryder’s location.”

  Reynolds asked, “Have you a fix on Hardy’s location?”

  “Not yet sir,” came the reply from the officer without looking up from his console.

  “Keep me informed,” Reynolds replied then said, “Captain Reynolds to General Sinclair, looks like the pickup is going ahead, sir. So far we’ve not confirmed the location of Hardy. How should we proceed?”

  “Do nothing until Hardy is released then move in,” Sinclair ordered.

  “Ops, can you pick up anything on her whereabouts yet?” Reynolds wanted to know.

  “Sorry, sir, there’s no sign of her signature anywhere. If her tracker’s active then she’s either out of range, or dead.”

  “Let’s hope for their sake that she’s out of range, because I would not like to think what Stryder will do if they’ve killed her.”

  “There is one other possibility, sir.”

  “Are you gonna keep me waiting or do I have to guess?”

  “Sorry, sir, the tracker might not be showing up if she’s held in a ship with stealth. The cloak could mask the signal, sir.”

  “Is there any way for us to determine whether there’s a cloaked ship out there in orbit somewhere before it’s too late?”

  “I very much doubt it, sir. By the time we’d reconfigured the sensors to search for a particular signature, and that’s assuming we had the signature to search for in the first place, they’d be long gone.”

  “Okay, just keep a tight lock on Stryder and hopefully he’ll take us to where the action is.”

  STRYDER WALKED TOWARDS the shuttle his mind racing; formulating then disregarding options open to him. He realised that if he wanted to ensure the safety of Hardy he would have to go along with whatever Norsky had in mind, for the moment anyway.

  Walking up the small ramp he entered the shuttle and the door ‘whooshed’ closed behind him, trapping him inside.

  There was a sudden lurch as the thrusters lifted the small, sleek craft off the ground and into the air.

  “Take a seat, this could get a little bumpy,” Norsky said as he dropped into a seat across from him. A harness automatically strapped him in as the ship piloted herself.

  Stryder took the seat across from Norsky and the harness secured him in place as the shuttle banked steeply into an almost vertical incline, her speed increasing to reach escape velocity.

  Norsky never took his eyes from those of Stryder nor did the muzzle waver from the centre of his chest. He had seen the Marine in action and he was not taking the chance of him getting an advantage.

  “Obviously you came down here on your own, hoping that I would keep to my side of the bargain even if you had no intention of keeping to yours,” Stryder said. “Which begs the question, are you alone? You possibly have one other with you who would be guarding your prisoner, that’s assuming you haven’t killed her.”

  “You’re assuming an awful lot Captain. You insult my intelligence if you insist that you would not do the same if circumstances were reversed.”

  “Perhaps, but let me reiterate that if any harm has come to her then I will kill you,” Stryder said, with a hard edge to his voice.

  “You are in no position to make any threats Captain so just sit tight and enjoy the ride, it’ll soon be over,” replied Norsky calmly.

  Stryder had no alternative but to do as he was told. He didn’t have to wait much longer as the shuttle exited the planet’s atmosphere and was in space moments after, at which time the craft’s speed slowed considerably. The automatic pilot began docking manoeuvres as it approached a craft that suddenly appeared on the shuttle’s scanners having dropped its cloak.

  “You do realise that Col Sec is probably watching this, now that we’ve met up with your ship,” Stryder said trying once more to rattle his captor.

  “Yes, but I’m banking on them waiting for the shuttle to leave again with your Miss Hardy on board before they make their move,” replied Norsky with a hint of a smile.

  Stryder knew then what was about to happen. Norsky was right in assuming no one would make a move until they were assured of Hardy’s safety. He’d made Sinclair promise that himself, and because of that, he’d sealed both their fates. Norsky had no intention of releasing her, because after all, she was his trump card and while they were waiting for her release, he could make his escape.

  All this was his fault.

  The outer hull doors clanged shut, the sound travelling even inside the shuttle, as they closed behind the smaller craft, hemming it inside the small docking bay and with it any hope Stryder had of escape.

  “Okay Captain, I’ll take you to your friend now,” Norsky said as his seat released him. He still had his pistol trained on Stryder as he motioned for him to move out of his seat.

  Stryder got to his feet and left the shuttle followed closely by the Black Knight. Even though he was behind him, Norsky led Stryder towards the room in which Hardy had been imprisoned.

  “You’ll find, my dear friend, that I kept my word about your lady friend. She is unharmed as I assured you she would be. It is unfortunate that it has to end like this but in every conflict there has to be a winner and a loser,” Norsky said as they pulled up outside the room where he had left Hardy.

  Operating the door release, Norsky opened the door and as it slid to the side revealing the room beyond, he said, “You’ll find her in there.”

  Stryder took one step inside the room and as he saw Hardy sprawled out on the floor, turned in time to see Norsky aim his pistol and fire.

  The blast, at close range again, sent him staggering inside the room to trip over the prone form of Zara Hardy. He hit the floor hard and lay there, unconscious.

  “I’m tr
uly sorry my friend, if it hadn’t been for where we were both born, we could’ve been friends,” he said as he left the room, closing and sealing the door with them inside.

  Accessing the ship’s computer through his NI, Norsky gave the autopilot a command to leave orbit and return to Alliance space after engaging their stealth mode.

  The ship banked sharply away from the planet, jumped into hyperspace and was gone.

  “ANY NEWS OF HARDY?” Reynolds asked the ops officer.

  “None at all, sir. Norsky’s shuttle has entered the ship which suddenly appeared on our sensors, sir,” replied ops.

  “Keep a close lock on that ship. The second that shuttle leaves her I want a blast aimed at their engines. I don’t want her going anywhere.”

  “Sir, they’re gone,” said the ops officer flabbergasted.

  “What do you mean, gone?”

  “Just that, sir, it was there one second and the next it’d gone. It made the jump to hyperspace, sir, we’ve lost it.”

  “Oh Christ!” Reynolds exclaimed as the importance of what he’d just been told sunk in. He thought for a second then said, “I want that entire section of space scanned for any residual energy signatures. We may be able to locate them if we know what to look for. I’m going to inform the General in person.”

  “Sir, you do realise that no one has ever been able to track a ship through hyperspace, don’t you?”

  “Yes damn it, but we have to try. We may just get lucky.”

  “Aye, sir,” replied the officer as the Captain left the bridge. They both knew that all hope of finding Stryder and Hardy had vanished along with the starship, when it made the jump to hyperspace. He didn’t envy his captain the task of informing General Sinclair of the fact.

  19

  Stryder woke up to find he was lying next to Hardy on the floor of the room he’d been forced to enter at gunpoint.

  He looked across at her and instantly knew that she was all right, unconscious but okay. She was close to coming round. He had no idea how he knew that, he just did, another indicator of the changes his body and mind had undergone.

  He got to his feet and crossed the room to the door in a few strides. A quick inspection told him it was locked and secure, he wouldn’t be getting out of there in a hurry.

  He went back to Hardy and knelt beside her placing two fingers against the carotid artery and was pleased to feel the pulse, steady and pronounced. She would be fine.

  She opened her eyes then and sat up quickly instantly regretting the swift movement.

  “Ouch!” she said placing a hand on her head, “That hurt.”

  “Take it easy. If what happened to me is anything to go by, you were hit with a stun blast,” Stryder said as he steadied her. She was a little shaky, having risen so suddenly.

  “Wow, thanks,” she said as she regained her equilibrium and felt better. He released her and asked, “You okay?” concerned for her wellbeing. He knew that for them to escape they would both have to be at their best with no injuries. He knew that wouldn’t be a problem for himself, but Hardy was another matter.

  “I’m fine now, just a bit woozy there for a second. How about you, did you say you were blasted too?”

  “Yep, but it seems I recovered quicker than you, probably due to the changes I told you about,” he replied. Then a thought struck him and he started looking around the small room staring intently at the small recesses and the finer details.

  “What’re you looking for?” she asked, then she too realised he was looking for any sign that the room was bugged. If it was, then what he had just said could be the noose that hanged them.

  “I can’t see anything that would indicate there are any hidden lenses here, and there would be no reason for there to be. This isn’t the brig; it’s just a cabin like any of the quarters on board a thousand starships just like this one. If he’d planned on keeping us under surveillance then he would’ve put us in the brig. Everything about this pickup seems rushed to me, almost as if he made it up as he went along.”

  “You could be right there, especially seeing as how he watched you in the fight at the club. Watching you handle all those guys would make him revise his plans.”

  “They obviously want to extract whatever they can from me about the project so they can duplicate it for themselves.”

  “What do we do now then?” Hardy asked finally.

  “I can’t make any plans until I know where we are, but our priority has to be getting our asses out of here and as fast as we can,” Stryder answered.

  ON THE BRIDGE OF THE starship Norsky was sitting in the pilot’s seat, his fingers playing over the controls as he guided her through the vast reaches of hyperspace.

  Everything was going according to plan; his mission had been an unqualified success. His capture of Captain Stryder almost certainly guaranteed his promotion and as that knowledge played around inside his mind he couldn’t help but smile.

  He’d outwitted the much-vaunted Confederation, captured their supposed prized possession right from under their noses and brought him here to Alliance space. Told like that in simple terms he wondered if Col Sec was the great force everyone was led to believe.

  However, he had won and they had lost, it was as simple as that. Stryder was theirs now and there was no way they could get him back.

  Personally speaking though, he couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. Yes, he had to admit, that Stryder seemed to be a remarkable individual, but did he qualify for all the attention that was being lavished upon him? He supposed that only time would tell, and for him to gain the answer to that question he would have to get him safely to his destination.

  An entry point to normal space opened in front of him, as the jump through hyperspace was completed, and the starship’s deceleration back to real time speed took place.

  He contacted Captain Nokorovic to inform him of his success.

  “Congratulations Captain, this is excellent news. Go directly to our complex on Toldax and hand over your prisoners. Once that is done your commitment to this mission is fulfilled. You have some leave coming to you,” Nokorovic said with obvious pleasure in his voice.

  “Thank you, sir, I’ll set course for Toldax immediately,” Norsky said, hoping he had disguised the smug tone of his voice. He knew this victory would get him noticed by the high-ranking Generals of the Alliance.

  “I’ll inform them of your arrival,” Nokorovic said, then broke the connection.

  As Norsky programmed the autopilot for the change in course he couldn’t help but plan what he would do with his newfound fame.

  As the ship turned onto its new heading Norsky sat back in the pilot’s chair a satisfied grin plastered across his face.

  “ANY NEWS ON FINDING that ship?” Sinclair asked as he strode across the bridge of the starship. He was battling to keep his anger under control. He had no idea how this situation had gone from poor to hell and back in such a short space of time. What was ten times worse, he had no idea how to gain anything from it. If they didn’t find where Stryder and Hardy were, how could they even think of mounting a rescue operation? The answer was simple and short, they couldn’t.

  They had nothing to work on, no leads, nothing. It was hopeless. Stryder and Hardy were alone.

  “None, sir,” Captain Reynolds replied.

  “Well, Captain, that’s just not good enough!” stormed Sinclair. The bridge was plunged into silence, no one daring to utter even the slightest sound for fear of focussing his anger on them. It was unusual for the General to raise his voice like that. It was virtually unheard of and it caught them all off guard.

  After a pause Reynolds said, “Sir, may I ask a question?”

  Sinclair spun on him his fury blazing through his eyes, but before answering he composed himself, aware that his normal shield of calm was slipping. He could not allow that to happen again. “What?” he said, his normal calm demeanour slowly returning.

  “One thing’s been bothering me for a while now, si
r, and that’s how the Alliance got hold of the codes for the Recon Delta tracking chips,” Reynolds said.

  “How is that going to help this situation may I ask?” Sinclair said, and then held up a hand to halt Reynolds, as he digested what had been said. “Yes, of course, if we can discover who gave them the codes, we might be able to exert some pressure to find out where they intend taking Stryder. Good point Captain, continue your search, I’ll be in my quarters, I’ve things to sort out,” he said. He turned on his heel and strode out of the bridge leaving Reynolds with his mouth wide open and the rest of the bridge crew to continue with their work.

  After a short pause, Reynolds regained his composure and said, “You heard the man, let’s continue the sensor sweeps.”

  TOLDAX WAS AN EARTH-type planet, one of the few that hadn’t needed to be terraformed before the colonisation started. The Alliance found it before the Confederation even knew of it. It was situated twenty-four light years from the border of Confederation and Alliance space on the Alliance side.

  Norsky took his starship into a parking orbit around the planet while he waited for authorisation to land. He didn’t have to wait for long; the authorisation was rushed through giving him priority due to the nature of his cargo.

  He took the starship into land at the main spaceport of the military base, situated away from the populated areas. The population of the planet numbered close to four million, most of them living in the one huge city on the largest landmass. There were a few homesteads dotted about outside the city where those families who preferred to live off the land dwelled.

  The military base was well away from any of these, situated almost on the opposite side of the planet, on the second of the two largest landmasses. It was a sprawling complex, low to the ground with only one floor at sea level but several floors below ground level.

  As he landed, guards surrounded the craft the moment the engines were powered down and made secure. The hatches were opened and Marines stormed the craft.