“Running tracking program now,” Keo said. His console began beeping less than a second later. “Here’s one that’s out of the ordinary.”
Strand leaned forward and checked the results on his console. “It’s drifting slowly towards us. Yeah, that’s the one. Bring us to an intercept course.”
Keo began inputting new commands as the shuttle’s engines activated once more. “What’s so special about this space rock?”
“You’ll see. Try to get behind it. I want to see what’s on the other side of that asteroid.”
“Okay,” Keo said. His eyebrows quickly shot up as the numbers on the console suddenly changed. “Hey, it’s … it’s rotating!”
Strand grinned. “Activate com-links and send a tight beam right at the asteroid.”
“Done, LT. Com-link channel open.”
Strand spoke into the microphone. “Stop hiding, Xander. I know you’re there.”
A gravelly voice came over the com-link just a few seconds later. “Damn, that was fast. You must have one heck of an AI working for you, Garrett.”
“You know me,” Strand said. “I work with only the best.”
“That you do. That you do. Hang on a minute. I’ll match velocities for an intercept. Over and out.”
Keo stared back at the readouts in astonishment. “Heat signatures picking up a ship. Seems the vessel was hiding behind the asteroid, so all the forward sensors didn’t detect anything until she powered up her fusion engines.”
Less than a hundred thousand klicks away, a small triangular-hulled ship detached herself from the rear of the asteroid and headed towards the shuttle, the newly activated radiators giving her the appearance of a glowing four-pointed blue star.
Keo couldn’t take his eyes off the incoming data stream. “She sure has large radiators for a ship her size.”
“Xander rebuilt the engines to his own specifications,” Strand said. “I heard the Eon Shrike can pull a ten-gee acceleration if she has to.”
“Oh my God. That’s the Eon Shrike?”
“You’ve heard of her, right?”
Keo nodded rapidly. “Who hasn’t heard of her? She’s like the smaller, stealthier version of the Nepenthe. What’s her ship class?”
“The Star Force classifies her ship type as a multi-role scout,” Strand said. “But Xander took it to the extreme. He’s made so many modifications on her that she’s in a class of her own.”
Keo could hardly catch his breath. “Whoa. She’s a hell of a ship. But isn’t the Eon Shrike wanted just like us? How will we get past the security zones to get to the planet? Are we gonna dodge all the lasers and lancers fired at us while riding in her?”
Strand winked at the youth. “You’ll see. Xander will earn his money’s worth. I guarantee it.”
Duncan Hauk lay stretched out in an alcove between two bulkheads on the lower level of the Nepenthe’s gravity module. Even though he had been assigned a bunk in the upper area with the other spacers, he preferred to sleep by himself. During his free time Hauk would wander about, looking for a perfect spot to pitch his sleep sack. The Nepenthe had plenty of space, especially the areas where parts of the superstructure converged to form numerous niches.
A few days after he got accepted, Hauk found just the right spot: a small recess in between parallel bulkheads, just behind one of the main life support modules. The soft hums of the automated machinery behind the walls reminded him of the road traffic back on Far Tortuga, and these were the ambient sounds that lulled him to sleep during downtime.
The boy had been drifting in and out of heavy slumber, but he soon flicked his eyes open, wide awake, when he sensed something else coming closer towards him. There were no lights in the immediate area, just the dim reflections from the nearby corridor casting long shadows in the twilight.
Hauk’s mind slowly pulled itself out from its dormancy. Could it be one of the officers coming to admonish him for not using the designated spacer quarters? He was sure they all knew of his penchant for sleeping out here by now. Hauk had been doing this for weeks, and nobody ever brought it up.
With his eyes narrowed to slits, Hauk continued to wait as the shady outline of a man slowly made his way towards him. The whole place was too dark to recognize the intruder. Who is he?
Hauk instantly sat up when he saw the other man holding something in his hand. It looked sharp and shiny. A blade.
The bulky assailant lunged forward and tried to stab him in the chest with the knife, but Hauk was able to roll away, and leapt out into the narrow lane in between the bulkheads. The bigger man charged at him, thrusting the short blade forward in a stabbing arc, aiming for his throat.
Hauk managed to get his arms up, partially blocking the attack. His enemy tried to slash at his arms, but the boy managed to slap away the knife hand and the blade flew off to the side, making a metallic clatter as it bounced off a wall.
Using both hands, the assailant began grappling with him, dragging the boy down to the floor. Only when he could smell the enemy’s breath did Hauk’s confused mind finally register who it was.
“Benno, stop this,” he said.
The larger boy used his superior strength and bulk to pin Hauk to the ground. Benno’s other hand held him down, and he began to put pressure on Hauk’s throat with his right arm.
Hauk struggled to breathe. His left arm was still free, but his frantic blows against the side of the bigger boy’s face didn’t seem to affect Benno at all. It was like trying to resist an unstoppable force. Now that he was down on the ground, Hauk was simply outclassed due to his physical limitations.
The pain in his throat quickly got worse. Hauk tried to cough but the viselike grip on his throat prevented air from both leaving and entering. The boy was able to let out a desperate, agonizing wheeze, and he began to black out.
Benno hissed, “I’m going to be the new spacer. Not you.”
Hauk wanted to reason with him, but the solid, suffocating grip around his throat made it impossible. He was rapidly losing whatever strength he had left. The dimness around him seemed even more opaque than ever.
Just as he was about to black out, Benno’s grip suddenly loosened around Hauk’s throat. The bigger boy looked up in shock before crying out in pain.
The weight on Hauk’s chest dissipated as Commander Creull’s jaws clamped firmly on Benno’s lower back and she threw him off to the side. The bigger boy landed in a heap along the angle of the bulkhead, the back of his jumpsuit having been shredded by razor-sharp teeth.
Creull leaned over to check on the smaller boy. “You okay?”
Hauk slowly got to his feet. His throat was raw. “I’m … al … right,” he said in between bouts of dry, painful coughing.
Creull turned her attention to Benno. “You attempted to murder one of your own crewmates. The penalty for that is immediate execution.”
Benno got to his knees. Tears streamed down his cheeks. “This is not … fair. I won the contest on Far Tortuga. I … should have been promoted to spacer.”
“You’re too stupid to be promoted,” Creull said. “Sappho knows everything that goes on inside this ship. Her eyes are everywhere. Did you think this little plot of yours would go unnoticed? I was already on my way here the moment you stepped onto this level.”
“Not … fair,” Benno repeated.
The female riwwr grabbed him by the throat with one of her thick hands, suspending him in the air. “I could just as easily rip your throat out for what you did, but I’ve decided to airlock you instead.”
Hauk was finally able to clear his throat. “Wait, Commander.”
Creull twisted her neck and glanced at the smaller boy. “You should go to the medbay and get examined. I’ll handle this.”
“Commander, spare his life,” Hauk said softly.
Creull growled in confusion. “What?”
Hauk took in a deep breath before continuing. “I know this sounds strange, but Benno only resented me because he felt he couldn’t become a full-
fledged member of the crew since he thought I was in his way.”
“And what do you propose I do with him?”
“Promote him to being a full-fledged spacer,” Hauk said. “We’re shorthanded with all the casualties we’ve taken lately, and you know he can fight.”
“You want me to promote him after he tried to kill you? You’re mad.”
“We accepted Maeve as part of our crew just like that,” Hauk said. “Benno has been here longer. He deserves a second chance.”
Creull turned back to look into Benno’s eyes. “Your own prey has elected to spare your life. Remember this—if you make any further attempt to harm anyone in this crew then I will kill you where you stand.”
Benno nodded slowly. Creull threw him back onto the floor. The bigger boy landed on his shredded back and whimpered.
“Thank you, Commander,” Hauk said.
Creull pointed a stubby finger at the lighted corridor up ahead. “Both of you, get to the medbay. Begone from my sight.”
19 The Dissenter
The Eon Shrike’s ownership had changed hands many times over the years, but among mercenary circles everyone felt the ship’s capabilities had finally reached a zenith once Xander Gunhardt acquired her after killing the previous owner in a duel. In less than two years this scout-class starship had earned a reputation as one of the best smuggling vessels in the entire galaxy.
After getting clearance from the com-link channel, Xander leaned back on the command chair near the front of the cockpit and took out a vaporizer tube from his vest pocket. It had taken him a few months to get used to his cybernetic right hand, and now he had just the right precision to pick up the most delicate of objects without them slipping from his fingers or ending up crushed in his palm. “So far so good. Beginning approach towards the surface of Horizon. I gotta commend your people, Garrett. They did a fine job with these passcodes.”
Garrett Strand’s nostrils opened wide at the strange odor emanating from the other man’s vaporizer. The young lieutenant remained seated just to the side of the cockpit door. “What the heck is that smell?”
Xander puffed out a small wisp. “Marijuana. It’s an Earth plant. You want some?”
“No thanks.”
“Suit yourself,” Xander said as he puffed some more. The Eon Shrike’s cockpit always felt spacious whenever he was alone, but now with somebody else present it seemed cramped. He didn’t even want to think about the others down below in the modified cargo hold.
Strand looked around. “I’m surprised you’ve still got this old bird in good shape. From what I’ve been hearing on the grapevine, you’ve seen plenty of action in the last few years.”
Xander held up his right arm so the other man could see it. “And here’s what I’ve got to show for it. I can fix metal and composite materials, but if it’s a fleshy limb, I need to replace it.”
“How did that happen?”
“Don’t ask.”
“You could have just gotten a cloned transplant instead of a cybernetic limb replacement, you know.”
“Didn’t I tell you not to ask?”
“Okay, forget it,” Strand said. “Can I ask about the ship at least?”
“Sure. Fire away.”
“I took a look at your engines, and they’re unlike anything I’ve seen on a scout ship. How did you modify them?”
“From the ground up,” Xander said. “I took a fusion engine off an old Star Force destroyer and pared it down until it could fit behind the primary hull of the Eon Shrike.”
“You’re using a cut-down engine from a destroyer? You’re kidding me.”
“It’s the honest truth,” Xander said. “Ain’t that right, Athena?”
A sultry feminine voice was heard over the entire cockpit. “It sure is, Xander.”
Strand looked around. “Is that your ship AI?”
Xander kept his eyes on the console as he began an entry maneuver towards the planet. “You’re smarter than you look, Garrett.”
“I’m just saying, if we altered our AI’s voice like that back in the Nepenthe, nobody would be able to do any work. She’d be way too distracting,” Strand said.
“Well, since your crew are mostly a bunch of young kids, it wouldn’t surprise me,” Xander said. “Listening to Athena calms me down during the worst of times.”
Strand leaned forward. “Why not join us, Xander? We could use a guy like you on a full-time basis. The money we loot is pretty damn good. There’s no need for you to be a one-man show all the time.”
Xander shook his head. “Nah, not my style.”
“Why not?”
“I like working alone. Being around too many people irritates me,” Xander said.
“You weren’t like this before,” Strand said. “The VIPR teams we served in together would sometimes number up to twenty operators or more, depending on the mission.”
“I’ve changed,” Xander said. “I’m tired of looking after snot-nosed kids. God knows how many times I had to get you out of trouble all those years ago.”
“Okay, well, you don’t have to be an instructor on the Nepenthe if you don’t want to,” Strand said. “There are other positions you can get assigned to. I’m sure our nytini crewmembers would love to have you as part of the engineering team.”
Xander sighed. “If you want the honest truth, let’s just say I don’t want to get close to anybody anymore.”
“I don’t want to pry,” Strand said. “You have your reasons. Forget I asked.”
“You’re an old friend, so you deserve an explanation,” Xander said. “You remember Dakota?”
“Yeah, not the best-looking woman, but she was one heck of an operator,” Strand said. “She was a former Scout Ranger, right?”
Xander nodded. “Yep. I met her about eight years ago and she served on this very ship you’re sitting in. We made a great team and pulled off some major scores.”
“Oh yeah? Where’s she now? I didn’t know her that well, so I could always reintroduce myself,” Strand said.
“She’s dead,” Xander said softly.
Strand leaned back on the chair. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“It’s alright,” Xander said. “I thought we pulled off this one job so well and I got too cocky. Then they ambushed us. I don’t remember many of the details, but she died so I could get away.”
“She sacrificed herself to help you escape?”
“That’s right,” Xander said. “I could have gotten more crewmembers for this ship to replace her, but I decided never to get too close to anyone ever again. I … liked that woman, Garrett. I keep thinking about what I could have done differently.”
“I know it hurts, pal,” Strand said. “I lost a few people just a little over a week ago. But I still got to look after the other kids on my strike team too, so I can’t afford to grieve.”
Xander shook his head slowly. “Well, I guess I’ve gotten too old to handle it. Anything else I can take, but when it comes to friends or crew dying, I just can’t stand it anymore. That’s why I’d rather be alone now.”
“Okay, fair enough,” Strand said. “I’ll contact you again if we need your services after this.”
“You need to finish this job in one piece first,” Xander said while taking another puff of the vaporizer. “It’s time you got your butt to where your team is. I’ll be lifting off back into orbit and I’ll wait for your extraction code. If I don’t hear from you in forty-eight hours then I’m gone.”
“Don’t worry, you will.”
The Eon Shrike had once again been heavily modified the moment she docked with the much larger Nepenthe a few days before. The nytini engineers had constructed a fake superstructure resembling the outer hull of a small transport ship, and Xander had expertly maneuvered his scout vessel to the inside of the hollow shell. With the support girders in place and the radiator wings extending out past the bogus framework, she now resembled one of the many ubiquitous light freighters used by mining consortiums to s
end their equipment down onto planets for prospecting.
The ATV lay nestled in the imitation cargo bay, secured with mechanical restraints to prevent the vehicle from moving around while the ship began her descent into Horizon’s atmosphere. Five people sat in the ATV’s interior, their bodies strapped down on the crash chairs.
Duncan Hauk sat in the rear cabin of the ATV. This would be the first planetfall he would be making ever since he had left his homeworld behind all those weeks ago. His time on the simulators had been well spent, and he didn’t feel any discomfort as the gravity began to increase all around him.
Maeve Lindros lay beside the boy. When Lieutenant Strand had asked her if there was anyone she would prefer to be part of the team, she quickly volunteered Hauk’s name without hesitation. To her surprise, the suggestion was approved. Hauk and Strand were the only other crewmembers she had been spending time with, so she felt better when she was accompanied by them.
Dhara Hayer sat across from the two kids. She noticed the boy’s stare and turned her head the other way, not willing to make eye contact with him.
Hauk flicked his eyes over to Maeve. The lieutenant had briefed him privately, and he was well aware of the concerns with regard to the former Institute scientist. Although his main task for the operation was to serve as a companion to Maeve, Strand had ordered him to eliminate Dhara if she attempted to betray them once they were on the ground.
Strand’s voice was heard over the intercom. The lieutenant was sitting up front in the vehicle’s driver compartment, along with Sergeant Ripoll Keo. “Beginning planetfall. Stand by.”
The boy could see that Maeve was visibly nervous. The teenage girl was shaking like a leaf; she had evidently never experienced going down a planet’s gravity well.
Dhara looked at Maeve and gave her a disarming smile. She wanted to hold the girl’s hand and comfort her, but for obvious reasons it wasn’t possible. “It’s okay, Maeve. It will pass.”
Maeve looked away. The loss of trust was still present, and it overrode her gnawing fear.
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