White Fire

by Laurie Bell

  “Kid,” he grunted and pointed to her hand, the betrayal of her own skin. “Be quick. I ain’t wanting no trouble with Debi. She can’t find out who you are.”

  Nodding, Toni started the truck’s repulsor engine. Emitting a roar, the rear of the truck rose several feet off the ground. It didn’t take long for Mic to load the crates.

  He activated a remote and the side wall of the warehouse opened onto the port’s landing strip. Toni threw the truck into gear and buzzed the engines lightly. As the doors opened fully, her glasses activated with several vibrations.

  Text messages burst onto her shades display.

  Zach: Where have you been?

  Mate: Are you well?

  “Fine,” she told her partners. “Coming out now.” Toni turned to Mic. Speaking quickly she asked, “Do you have any records? Where did the rest of the crates go? And what about those barrels of water? Who are they for?”

  Mic thrust a piece of greasy paper onto her lap. “Get outta here.”

  She revved the truck again and inched the big vehicle out the warehouse. The Blackflame waited in the distance. Debi stood outside the closed ramp.

  Zach: She tried to get in, Boss. I think she was going to use an explosive next. Oh, and Boss. They’ve got insane encryption here. I’ve only just broken into their logs.

  “And?”

  Zach: Just an old Sunchaser berthed there. I am working on the designation but it looks like they’ve been wiped by a professional.

  “Keep trying, Zach.” So they were also flipping ships here. Quite the operation.

  Zach: Boss!

  “What?”

  Zach: There’s a Stargazer here. It looks like the Renegade.

  Colten? Toni scowled. One step ahead of her, as usual. She peered over her shoulder. “I wonder where he is?”

  She drew the truck to a halt right in front of Debi.

  “Mic. Kid.” Debi glared at the old man over Toni’s shoulder.

  “Ma’am.” A glance at her wrists ensured they were still covered, but Toni knew she had to get out of the sun. She held up a hand. “Ah, I’m going to need access to my ship to load these—”

  “You ain’t on the list,” Debi said.

  “What?”

  “I checked.” The blonde woman raised a sawn-off blaster identical to the one Mic held and pointed it straight at Toni.

  Khegh it.

  Zach: I can drop the guns in a micro-second, Boss.

  “Hold,” she muttered. If he dropped the guns, it would put her right in the line of fire. She had to settle this herself or get the woman to move first. “Checked what?” she called out.

  Zach: Mate’s ready to move, just give the word.

  Toni remained silent. Not yet, Mate.

  “You ain’t on the list,” Debi repeated, stepping forward. She charged her weapon with a sharp move of her wrist. Toni dove out of the truck as the first shot exploded where her head had been. She looked up to see Debi sink to her knees, a bleeding hole right through her chest. Toni gaped and then, realizing what had happened, glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see Colten with a smug expression on his face. Mic lowered the blaster in his hands.

  “Well, khegh it! That ain’t been the plan,” he grumbled.

  Toni rolled to her feet. “No, Mate, wait!” she shouted knowing the C-bot would be racing out to help her. Mic didn’t raise his weapon again but he did look at her and shrug.

  “Thank you,” she told him.

  “I ain’t here, Agent. I’m back inside and I saw nothin’, you got that? You did this, self-defense, all right?”

  “What? Oh, yes, sure. You were not here.”

  “Well, go on. Get.” Mic headed into the warehouse as if nothing had happened. Toni glanced at the body of the woman lying in the dirt at the base of the Blackflame’s ramp. This entire morning had not gone as she’d expected. She glanced around again. No sign of Colten.

  *

  Zaambuka called just before they entered forcedspace out of the Trayner system. “I need you on Midock, Toni. Keep the Vice-President alive at all costs. Find and neutralize Balandez. I’ll contact Ramo and let her know you’re on your way, along with two additional Sentinel teams for added security.”

  “What about the shipments?”

  “I’ve got them covered. New information has come to light and we have to act on it immediately. I need someone I trust to handle Midock.”

  “I have a new list of planets from Kyth-tact.”

  “What makes you think this information is . . . ?”

  She held her boss’s gaze as regret curled in her belly. “I have confirmation Agent Darning is dead.”

  “What? Did you see—”

  “No sir. I encountered his contact on Kyth-tact. He gave me a list. It’s a different list to some of the planets from the tablet. He told me to let Darning’s family know.”

  “That’s not proof.”

  “I know, Sir. But the guy just saved my life. I think he’s telling the truth.”

  Zaambuka was silent while he absorbed this information. “And the list?”

  “Zach is sending it to you now.”

  “Do we know what’s going on out there?”

  “No, Sir. They’re border worlds, human settlement worlds. It may be connected to the attack Mate and I witnessed.”

  “Interesting. That might also tie into the information I’ve just received from an old friend. Very well, send the list and I’ll put some agents on it. I need you on Midock.”

  “Yes, Boss.”

  “Be careful.”

  “Worried about me?”

  “No. If Ramo dies, so does intergalactic peace.”

  “Well, it’s nice to feel appreciated.” The screen blacked out. Toni turned to Mate. “You heard the man.”

  Mate backed himself under the console to her left. At her order, a lead shot out of his neck and into a socket above his head. Zach appeared on the screen above him.

  “I’ve calculated the nav for Midock,” the CII announced. “But what about the Renegade? The smuggler must be down there somewhere. Boss, I didn’t even get into the other hold. It was locked down tight as a forcedspace surfer.”

  For a brief moment, she thought about returning to the planet to look for him. Debi had been ready to shoot Toni. Then her shoulder began to throb, reminding her. Colten had left her behind on that moon. Had known she was hurt—after all, he’d shot her. Hadn’t cared. Glaring at the soldered tear in the wall, she shook her head. “Send Jas a message. Tell her we found water barrels on Kyth-tact. Let her know one of her people is on the ground. Next stop, gentlemen,” she said, “Midock.”

  “Boss?” Mate began. She stared down at him and said nothing. He settled down at her feet. “I hope we will not be forced to listen to any speeches. I hate political speeches.”

  Toni fired the Blackflame’s engines and they burst into forcedspace. She grinned down at the C-bot forcing Colten out of her mind.

  “Maybe they’ll have snacks.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  The Blackflame’s TAFF klaxons jolted Toni from her restless sleep. She scrubbed at her eyes and peered up at the viewscreen.

  “What the …?”

  “What’s happening?” Mate asked, padding into the cockpit.

  Zach answered both startled agents. “We’ve been pulled out of forcedspace.”

  “Only an Anti-Ticyon stream can do that,” Mate stated.

  “Exactly.” Toni pointed. Stars appeared in their fixed positions as the Blackflame was dragged from its course into normal space. In front of them sat an ATS freighter.

  Heart pounding with the certainty that it was already too late, she threw the control stick hard to the right and fingered the deceleration sequence. Reversing the pattern a split second later, the Blackflame paused, turned one hundred and eighty degrees and flew back along its own flight path. Toni quickly strengthened the rear shielding. “Shenghi!” She ignited the Blackflame’s forward thrusters and dove under the
three battleships that appeared directly in front of her.

  “They’re blocking us in. Holonet communication is down. There’s no way to send a signal to headquarters,” Zach reported.

  Damn, damn, damn! Toni dodged the Blackflame in and around the three large Padotel battleships. They identified themselves on her screens as Incinerator, No Quarter, and Dayraider.

  “There is a direct hail link from lead ship, Boss,” Zach announced.

  “Give me a minute and then put it on.” She turned the Blackflame again, jigging hard left and then right as the three ships closed in on either side. The ticking clock in her head was speeding up. While the Incinerator tailgated, the Dayraider and No Quarter boxed her between them.

  Who the khegh are they? Pushing the Blackflame faster, Toni managed to pull slightly ahead. She couldn’t jump to forcedspace as long as that ATS freighter flooded the area with Anti-Ticyons. They were stuck here for the duration of the battle. Her stomach whirled. Her skin felt cold and clammy.

  “Lightship Blackflame. This is Captain Soogin of the Redflag seventh squad battleship, Dayraider. I order you to shut down your TAFF generators and prepare to be boarded.” The man’s plummy voice boomed from the ship’s speakers.

  Like hell, I will. Bile rose in her throat. Someone had sent mercenaries after her. Colten? No, that didn’t make sense.

  Toni cleared her throat. “This is Agent Delle of the SPT. You need to back off. I am on an official mission—”

  “Shut down and prepare to be bordered.”

  Blowing out a sharp breath she activated the mic again. “I refuse to shut down my engines and allow you to board. Khegh off.” And with that, she flew the Blackflame straight up. The three ships shadowed her every move.

  “Zach, reinforce the rear shields.” Though she was a decent pilot, she could recognize a lost cause when she was inside one. Is this it? Is this how it ends? Laser fire rocked the Blackflame sharply. Without looking, she sensed Mate move into his hub under the console. Zach’s calculations of the distance required to exit the Anti-Ticyon blanket scrolled down her right-hand screen. Come on, come on.

  Mate initiated the Blackflame’s targeting program and fired back.

  Laser fire exploded against the Blackflame’s rear shields in reply, rocking the ship further. Emergency lighting flashed. Toni fought to keep her little ship out of the enemy vessels’ range, but loss was inevitable.

  “We can’t take too much more on …” Zach broke off as enemy lasers targeted the shields again. Fire exploded against the rear stabilizers. “Shield four down to fifty percent.” The Blackflame rocked, despite the wild maneuvers Toni made to avoid the beams around them. One chance. We need one little chance. Her heart thundered as the truth sunk in. She bit her lip and glanced at her companions. They were likely to survive explosive vacuum. Certainly more likely than she would. Will they miss me?

  “Shields at twenty percent. Next shot’ll take ’em out.”

  “Zach?”

  “We have another ten light years before we can jump.”

  “Won’t make it.” Sucking in a deep breath, Toni ordered the CII to transfer all unneeded power to the front shields, including the power from their rear protection.

  “This is not going to end well,” Mate growled.

  “Mate, as soon as we’re in range, lock onto the Dayraider and fire all guns, three second bursts, two seconds apart. Aim the TAMM torps, but don’t fire until my mark.” She gripped the stick with a trembling hand.

  “Yes, Boss.”

  She threw the Blackflame into a wide arc, inverting the ship, and applied speed. Flipping the Blackflame over again she pointed the ship’s nose straight down, stamping onto her boost accelerator. Her body moved sharply. The Blackflame jumped forward. Mate fired everything at the ship that fell into their firing line. The Blackflame spun hard to face the opposite direction, looped up and came head-to-head with the Dayraider.

  Toni ignored the Incinerator and No Quarter’s presence over them and lowered the Blackflame’s nose to skim the Dayraider’s hull. The thump thump thump of her pulse beat a rapid yet steady rhythm in her ears. She focused on the sound, letting the blaring alarms fade away.

  Laser fire blossomed off her front shields. The Blackflame hugged the undercarriage of the larger ship. Emerging from beneath, Toni pulled back on the forward thrusters and spun the Blackflame into the Dayraider’s rear. When the torpedo tubes were angled at her attacker, she cried, “Now!”

  “Firing one, two, three and four.”

  In battle, Toni envied her robotic friend’s calm.

  “Lasers!” she demanded as the first torpedo exploded against the Dayraider’s shields. The torpedoes themselves didn’t do much damage, but the lasers fired immediately afterward penetrated the shield as it wobbled. The Redflag officers attempted to stabilize the shields, but Toni’s laser fire had hit the rear shield generator.

  Internal gravity support and the rear torpedo launcher, both located close to the Dayraider’s shield generator, exploded along with it, blowing a hole the size of the Blackflame in the battleship’s hull. Pressure ripped the Dayraider wide open.

  Toni’s mouth dropped open as the damaged ship exploded.

  The Blackflame, too close to the dying ship, was thrown back as the shockwave rippled outward. The Incinerator was caught in the Dayraider’s death throes. Heavier than the Blackflame, it was unable to maneuver away in time. The Incinerator’s shields buckled under the intense bombardment of the metal and plasteel bulkheads that once made up the Redflag’s lead ship. Toni gasped as the Incinerator emulated the Dayraider’s fate and also exploded.

  Her body was a tense spring poised for sudden release. Icy. “Good shot, Mate!”

  “Yeah, nice one, Mate,” Zach echoed.

  The C-bot looked up at them both. “I planned that, of course.”

  Toni’s laughter sounded a little hysterical. We might actually get out of this. “We’ve still got one to go.” She pulled the Blackflame around in a wide loop and lined it up with the No Quarter.

  Her ears rang with the alarms as the Blackflame stopped dead in space. Vibrations in her feet increased as she revved the generators well past their safeties. Flutterwings in her stomach invited friends. Goosepimples broke out across her neck.

  “Two more ships have emerged from forcedspace,” Mate confirmed. “The lead ship has captured us in a holding beam.”

  All breath exploded from her body.

  “It’s a class nine battleship, Boss. There ain’t no way we’re gonna break free from it,” Zach warned.

  “Well, we have to try.” She reached for the thruster controls. Before she could act, the Blackflame bucked and every cockpit panel sparked and shrieked. Zach disappeared from the screen. When he came back, he was smeared over it, as if someone had rolled his face with a crop-crusher.

  Mate dropped to the floor, sparking and jerking wildly. His operational lights flickered and then died.

  Toni’s heart froze. No! She slammed her hands against the lifeless panel. “Damn it, they have a plasma cannon!” All she could do was watch her ship draw steadily closer to the battleship. With her instruments damaged, they were utterly helpless. She glanced down at the still form of her partner. Memories of the last time she lost her friends hit her. I can’t do this without them. Tears prickled. She sniffed and blinked back the haze. Mate and Zach should be okay. Plasma charges wore off after a while. They’d probably need some level of repair, and she hoped whoever found them would treat them with care.

  She set the Blackflame’s internal security system and quickly added a few additional layers to protect Zach’s profile. Her attackers might take her, but they would not take her friends without losing someone in the attempt.

  Minutes ticked by. Toni turned her attention to her partner. If she could bypass some of his protocols and cut down on essentials, like his verbal programs, she might be able to reactivate him.

  She felt the moment the Blackflame was sucked into the battl
eship’s docking bay. Her skin tingled as the vibrations stopped. Reconnecting the last switch, her partner’s eyes flickered and focused on her face. Mate opened his mouth but no sound emerged.

  Her voice wobbled. “Sorry, pal, it was the only way to get you reactivated in time. Listen, we were shot with a plasma cannon. The Blackflame’s inoperative and we’ve been dragged into the battleship’s dock. I’ll do what I can to distract the welcoming committee—it’s me they want. Activate security protocol Theta and get Zach back online. With our systems down, I can’t even get off an emergency signal. We’re on our own. While I’m gone, repair what you can to get the Blackflame up and running. With any luck, I'll be back soon.” Without Mate and Zach’s help, that was unlikely. Knowing it was the last time she’d see him opened a chasm in her chest. “I love you, Mate.”

  She caressed his head and blinked back hot tears. One escaped to slide down her nose. She sniffed and reached for her pistol. If she was going down, she’d go down fighting. “It’s better that you stay here,” she insisted, guessing what was going through his circuits. She didn’t want him to witness her death. I won’t live without him. Sliding her shades onto her face, she realized the plasma cannon had shorted the display. Khegh it. Raising her pistol, she sucked in a deep breath and tripped the system to open the door.

  Outside, mercenaries had gathered and were preparing to hack the door. At the sight of the lowering hatch, they ran for cover.

  Triggering the lock to seal behind her, Toni gave a crazy yell and ran down the ramp firing at anyone who moved. She got in several good shots and three men fell.

  Before she reached the ground, multiple stun beams converged and cut her down.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  Eyelids heavy, Toni twitched at the dagger-like pain digging into her brain. I’m still alive? It felt as though someone had smashed a brick against the side of her head. After a moment, she gave up trying to force open her eyes and concentrated on her facial muscles instead. They were weirdly stiff and sore. Her head pounded, and her body ached as though she’d been hit by a dozen stun blasts. She assumed she had. She was also swaying. A boat? Something hard dug into her stomach. She could hear footsteps, slow and methodical. Each time a step sounded, her body swayed. Oh, I’m being carried.