by Wayne Basta
Seeing Maarkean again had been comforting. She had wondered what had happened to him, and it was a relief to know for sure he was alive and free. But now she knew she was stuck in a prison with the two people who had tried to steal her ship and were the reason she got caught. What Maarkean was doing with their other partner, she still had no idea, but at least she had been able to let Maark know that she wouldn’t be here long. She just hoped he wasn’t foolish enough to follow her when she was shipped back to Braz. His fake ID might work out here on the fringe planets, but it wouldn’t work on the homeworld.
Gamaly seemed convinced Zeric and Maarkean were working together on some sort of plan to get them all out, and that scared her. So far, he had just helped his sister escape being arrested. He would face prison for that, but it would only be a light sentence. If he were to do anything stupid, like attempt a rescue, they would both be executed.
Lost in her thoughts, Saracasi did not notice when Asirzi moved to stand beside her bed. The Liw’kel coughed quietly, breaking Saracasi’s train of thought. She turned her head and was surprised to see Asirzi. She would have expected Faide to come back to continue the questioning.
“It’s been an interesting morning,” Asirzi began nervously.
Sitting up on the side of her bunk, Saracasi considered the Liw’kel. When they had first met, she had been captivated by the other woman’s beauty. Liw’kel attracted her more than most species, she knew, but there was something particularly appealing about this one. They had not talked much since that first meal, though she had caught herself watching Asirzi at various times.
“You could say that,” Saracasi answered.
She tried to keep her wits about her. Despite being enamored, she knew she had to stay focused. She didn’t know what she wanted to reveal to the rest of the inmates yet about what had happened. In spite of learning that Gamaly had been responsible for her imprisonment, she found that she quite liked the woman, though not in the same way she found herself attracted to Asirzi. She remembered the torment Gamaly had gone through over seeing her husband beaten before her eyes, and it made a difference in how Saracasi viewed her. It was difficult to cross back over the line to seeing her as a cold-hearted thief. Yet those feelings were there, too.
“You and Gamaly must have had a lot to talk about,” Asirzi said.
Her tone betrayed a curiosity that made Saracasi suspect she had learned something. Until she decided how she was going to deal with Gamaly, she would keep the woman’s secret. This meant she had to limit what she said about what had happened.
Saracasi answered, “We had to face some people from her past who upset her. We did not get a chance to talk about it until we got back here.” She felt that was not exactly a lie, without actually revealing anything.
Asirzi considered it and nodded. To Saracasi’s surprise, she sounded relieved. “Even though it upset Gamaly, I am glad that you were taken for that reason. At least you did not have to face the commandant.”
The way Asirzi said the last part made Saracasi wonder. She decided to follow her hunch. “I don’t know what I would do in a situation like that. I don’t even like men, and to find one forcing himself on me….”
Asirzi appeared to shrink into herself when Saracasi spoke. The way her face became sad and her eyes grew distant made Saracasi regret saying anything. Her hunch had probably been correct, but she wished fervently it had not been.
“When do you think we’ll get some time outside?” Saracasi said, trying to change the subject. “During the brief periods I was out there, it was very nice weather.”
Asirzi didn’t respond, so Saracasi continued to ramble on about the weather and then about how she had spent most of the last few years living aboard a starship. When she mentioned life aboard ship, Asirzi’s face brightened. Saracasi continued to describe the ship and life aboard until Asirzi spoke. “Have you been to many different planets?”
Saracasi nodded. “Several. We’ve probably visited most of the planets in Kreogh sector. And a couple in the Trepon and Loisa sectors as well.”
“What were they like?” Asirzi asked, clearly interested. “I’ve never left Sulas.”
Smiling, Saracasi described everything she could remember about the worlds she had visited. From there, the conversation took many turns, and Saracasi found herself happily forgetting where she was for a time.
“All right,” Zeric said eagerly. “You’ve been quiet the entire ride back from the prison. Now we’re back. Out with it.”
Maarkean considered the Terran. He had been glad the man had taken the lead during the meeting with Saracasi. The sight of his sister in the prison jumper had frozen his tongue and made him afraid to say anything for fear of giving something away. That appreciation had dimmed somewhat during the return journey as Zeric and Lohcja had both pestered him to reveal his plan.
When they had arrived at the prison, Maarkean had been surprised by how light the security was. The sensor equipment guarding the approach to the building was of low quality, and the guards left significant gaps in their coverage. Once they had gotten inside, there were no checkpoints.
Despite Zeric’s pestering, he had decided to wait until they got back to the group before saying any more. He was always chastising Saracasi for wanting to act hastily, so he took his own advice and gave himself the duration of the ride to think his idea through several times. During that period, he had imagined several additional ways his plan could go horribly wrong. But even with those realizations, he kept coming to the conclusion that his plan was better than any of the alternatives.
As they had approached the house, Lohcja had called ahead, and everyone from the previous night had assembled. Walking into the basement, they had been confronted by a variety of expressions. Jairyd was as sour as ever, Meyka looked worried, Ceta was anxious and Lahkaba seemed curious. Pasha tried to maintain a blank expression.
“I think we can get them out,” Maarkean began. “Security inside the facility is pretty light. Once we’re inside, it will be no problem getting to the prisoners.”
“I concur. My concern is with the approach to the prison,” Zeric said to Maarkean. “It’s a wide open field. I noticed gaps in their coverage, but maneuvering a group through those gaps will be difficult. Plus, even if things go easily once we’re inside, getting back out will be difficult. Most of the defenses are designed to keep people in, after all. Plus, we’ll have to comb the whole prison looking for the right cell. Gamaly revealed her and your sister’s general location, but we don’t know where Gu’od or Lei-mey are being kept.”
Jairyd sneered at Maarkean. “Looks like even your friend disagrees with you. We’re not going on any suicide mission just to get your sister out. If we can’t find Lei-mey, we aren’t going in at all.”
Maarkean tried to suppress his response. The man was seriously starting to get on his nerves. If he didn’t need the man’s cooperation, he would have hit him a long time ago. He still wasn’t sure it wouldn’t come to that.
“That’s why we’re not going to sneak in. It would take too long, since we don’t know where everyone is held. Once stealth was lost, we’d be done for.”
“You’re not thinking of some kind of frontal assault, are you?” Lohcja asked nervously. He had been to the prison, too, and had seen what they would be up against. “Their defenses were spread thin, but with only seven of us, we would still get cut down.”
Despite claiming that he didn’t want to go on a suicide mission, Jairyd brightened, for the first time, at the idea of a frontal assault. That disturbed Maarkean more than anything the man had done so far. People excited by the idea of dying in a futile charge at the enemy had been in Maarkean’s military units before; they had not returned from many missions.
“Make that six of you,” Meyka said, more defiantly than you would expect from a small Terran woman. “I will not participate in any foolish violence that gets us and a lot of others killed.”
Maarkean held up his hands to forestall
any more arguments. “I’m not thinking of any foolish frontal assault or any near-impossible covert infiltration. There is one line of attack that the prison is completely vulnerable to.”
Lohcja and Zeric looked curious and were obviously mentally reviewing what they had seen to try to find what they had missed. The rest were just waiting.
“Air assault,” Maarkean said. “The prison has no defenses against an air raid. No anti-aircraft weapons, no shield generators. We fly in and take out their guard towers from the air, then we land and get everyone out. And I mean everyone, not just our people.”
The room was silent, everyone in disbelief. Maarkean had known that his idea was a little ambitious, but he had not expected this reaction.
Finally, Zeric spoke. “How exactly do we take out their defenses from the air? Your ship isn’t a fighter craft. And even if your one turret gun is enough, it’s certainly not big enough to get everyone in the prison out.”
Maarkean said, “My ship will be enough to take out the defenses. But you’re right, it’s not big enough to carry everyone. That’s where you come in. You’re a ship thief. Prove how good you are. Steal us a bigger ship that can hold everyone.”
Zeric considered this and then smiled. “I can probably find something.”
“If you fly in and start attacking the prison from the air, the military is going to get involved,” Lahkaba said. “Even if you can take out the prison defenses, we’ll have fighters all over us.”
Maarkean smiled. “I was a fighter pilot in the Alliance Navy. I doubt there are any fighters more advanced than AF-43’s here on Sulas, and my ship is more than a match for them. We’ll take out the communications tower first, which should buy us a little time. If we’re quick, and Zeric can find us a ship that can take a few hits, we should be able to take off from the prison and escape into hyperspace before any big ships can respond.”
The room was silent once more. Maarkean knew his idea was unorthodox, which was the very reason he thought it would work. The prison was defended against escape attempts from the inside and ground assaults from the outside. But no one had considered an air attack. There was no reason to. Who would attack a prison full of undesirable aliens from the air?
Without the others’ help, there was no way that he and Zeric could pull this plan off. If both of them went on the Cutty Sark, there would be no one to provide cover while they infiltrated the prison. If Zeric took his own ship, he’d have to deal with the prison guards alone until he was able to reach the first group of prisoners. Everything rested on the consent of some wannabe revolutionaries, most of whom didn’t appear to have any combat experience.
“So,” Jairyd finally said. Maarkean feared what rant the man would give against the idea. He thought he had sold Zeric on it. It looked like Meyka was out for any idea that involved violence. Reading Lahkaba or Lohcja was still tough, but his gut told him they would be in for anything. Pasha and Jairyd were the wild cards.
“You want to steal a craft large enough for hundreds of prisoners. Attack an Alliance prison with a transport ship. Then land a large, stolen ship inside the prison, storm it with six people…”
“Five,” Meyka said. “I won’t participate in direct violence.”
“Four, actually,” Maarkean interrupted. “I’ll need someone on my ship manning the turret.”
“All right, storm a prison with four people. Those four have to deal with the guards and get hundreds of unaware prisoners onboard this ship as quickly as possible. Then escape from Alliance fighter craft with only the protection of a single, lightly-armed transport.”
“That about sums it up,” Maarkean said, trying to put as much confidence in his voice as he could.
“It’s crazy,” Jairyd said, but then he smiled. “I like it.”
‘You’re a ship thief, just steal us a ship,’ Zeric thought sarcastically. ‘Sure, no problem.’ ‘But wait, Zeric, no one can know it’s been stolen. And it has to be big enough to carry hundreds of people. And land without a docking facility. And it has to be tough enough to withstand a few hits, just in case.’
Zeric shivered and tried again to pull his dark green combat jacket tighter around himself. The night air was cold, and he was standing out in it for the second night in a row. He had scoured the planet’s starports and starship dealers, trying to find an unguarded ship that met the specifications. The previous night, he had thought he had found a good candidate, and this was his second trip here to see if security was just as lax.
The Alliance impound storage facility was located on the outskirts of Ba’aar, a moderate city on the main continent’s west coast. The capital of Ciread had been ruled out immediately, despite the locals’ insistence that there would be more ships to choose from. They had not understood that if you wished to avoid detection, you didn’t steal from a place with the best tracking stations and military presence. The Razors also played in Ba’aar, and his cap gave him perfect cover, letting him blend in like a local.
Not for the first time, he thought about stealing something smaller and just leaving the planet. It would be smarter. No prisons. No guards. No chance of sudden death. But then he would be leaving Gu’od and Gamaly to a life in prison.
Up until he had met them, he had followed the old thief code, “every man for himself.” Even when he had worked for mercenary companies, he had stuck to that code. It had worked well, keeping him from jail and death on numerous occasions, though it might have worked against him sometimes. But his time with the two Liw’kel had reminded him what it was like to work with a team. A bond had developed that he had not felt since his time as a Marine.
While his service in the Marines had been brief – just four years as a front-line grunt when he had basically still been a child – he remembered the camaraderie that he had felt with the members of his unit. He certainly hadn’t liked everyone he served with, and had even hated a few of them, but there was still a connection with each of them. He hated to admit it, even to himself, but leaving the Alliance Marines hadn’t been his choice. The drawdown after the war had sent many Marines home for good. After he had been discharged, he had felt cut off and without direction. After the war, spending his life in college or working in an office had sounded like a fate worse than death.
Shaking off the reminiscing, Zeric refocused on the job at hand. The war had ended, and he’d had no prospects. Mercenary work had kept him fed, and watching out for his own back had kept him alive.
Looking down at his watch, he saw that it was just a few minutes before 2:00 a.m. local. Deciding that was close enough, he pulled the wire cutters out of his bag and started cutting a hole in the chain-link fence. With a few clips, he made a hole big enough to slip through, and he was inside.
When he had found this place, he had been suspicious of the complete lack of security. An entire field was covered with ships that Alliance forces had confiscated for various reasons. Many of the ships looked like they had been here for far too long. Zeric wondered what it said about the Alliance that they left these ships unguarded: that they were overconfident, or that they were neglectful of their property?
That last thought had helped him decide on this place. Since this was an impound lot, everything here was technically Alliance property. Using Alliance property to break prisoners out of an Alliance jail gave him a small sense of pleasure.
Creeping through the compound in the dark was harder than he had anticipated. He had counted on the darkness to help him stay concealed, but it was close to impeding his progress. As he was debating turning on his flashlight, he stumbled around the edge of a ship and saw his destination.
Towering above him was the dark shape of a YM-82 mining freighter. Extending in either direction from him for several hundred meters was the central cargo pod that the ship rested on. He had been told to find something that was big and sturdy and that no one would miss. A YM-82, designed to mine asteroids, was sturdy enough to withstand several hits from asteroid debris and large enough to fit a cou
ple hundred people in the cargo pods, assuming they were empty.
Zeric slowly edged up to the ship, searching for an access hatch. The ship’s hull was cold and hard, but it did not take him long to find a control panel. Opening the outer covering, Zeric looked over the panel in the dim light. He considered how best to proceed in hacking open the door, then decided to just try the door release key first. To his surprise, the panel lit up green and the ship beside him started rumbling.
He was amazed by his luck. The cargo door began lowering, revealing the cavernous interior of the ship. Zeric stepped into the center of three cargo pods. He discovered that this central chamber was isolated from the other two. The massive room extended across to an identical door on the other side of the ship, but was sealed off from either of the other two cargo bays. The walls were a dark reddish brown, which gave them the impression of rust — at least, Zeric hoped it was just an illusion.
When the door opened, dim yellow lights in the ceiling of the pod came on. Zeric immediately began looking for the interior controls for the door. Not wanting to press his luck, he closed the door behind him and hoped the lights coming from inside had not caught anyone’s attention.
On either side of the room were doors that appeared to be airlocks to the other two cargo pods. The doors made Zeric feel confident that the bays could be pressurized. That had been his main concern with this ship. Cargo pods designed to pick up space rocks might have been incapable of holding an atmosphere. If there were airlocks, then at least this pod must be capable of keeping people alive.
Beside the aft airlock was another door that Zeric discovered was an elevator. Stepping inside, he rode up to the crew decks of the ship. The elevator opened into a narrow corridor that ran along the spine of the ship. Trying to keep his orientation, Zeric turned left toward where he assumed the bridge would be located.
