Outbound Flight (звёздные войны)

by Timothy Zahn

  "What is it?" Car'das asked, grabbing for his board's own set of cutoffs.

  "A Connor net, or something like it," Qennto gritted out.

  "What, that size?" Car'das asked in disbelief.

  "Justdo it," Qennto snarled. Status lights were winking red and going out now as the three of them raced against the incoming net.

  The net won. Car'das had made it through barely two-thirds of his switches when the rippling edges came into sight around the sides of the hull. They folded themselves inward, curling around toward the bridge

  "Close your eyes," Maris warned.

  Car'das squeezed his eyes shut. Even through the lids he saw a hint of the brilliant flash as the net dumped its high-voltage current into and through the ship, sending a brief coronal tingling across his skin.

  And when he carefully opened his eyes again, every light that had still been glowing across the bridge had gone dark. TheBargain Hunter was dead.

  Through the canopy came a flicker of light from the direction of the Hutt ship. "Looks like they got Progga, too," he said, his voice sounding unnaturally loud in the sudden silence.

  "I doubt it," Qennto rumbled. "His ship's big enough to have cap drains and other stuff to protect him from tricks like this."

  "Ten to one he'll fight, too," Maris murmured, her voice tight.

  "Oh, he'll fight, all right," Qennto said heavily. "He's way too stupid to realize that anyone who can make a Connor net that big will have plenty of other tricks up his sleeve."

  A multiple blaze of green blasterfire erupted from the direction of the Hutt ship. It was answered by brilliant blue flashes vectoring in from three different directions, fired from ships too small or too dark to see at theBargain Hunter 's range. "You think whoever this is might get so busy with Progga that they'll forget about us?" Maris asked hopefully.

  "I don't think so," Car'das said, gesturing out the canopy at the small gray spacecraft that had taken up position with its nose pointed at the freighter's portside flank. It was about the size of a shuttle or heavy fighter, built in a curved, flowing design of a sort he'd never seen before. "They've left us a guard."

  "Figures," Qennto said, glancing once at the alien ship and then turning back to the green and blue flashes. "Fifty says Progga lasts at least fifteen minutes and takes one of his attackers with him."

  Neither of the others took him up on the bet. Car'das watched the fight, wishing he had his sensors back. He'd read a little about space battle tactics in school, but the attackers' methodology didn't seem to fit with anything he could remember. He was still trying to figure it out when, with a final salvo of blue light, it was over.

  "Six minutes," Qennto said, his voice grim. "Whoever these guys are, they're good."

  "You don't recognize them, either?" Maris asked, looking out at their silent guard.

  "I don't even recognize the design," he grunted, popping his restraints and standing up. "Let's go check on the damage, see if we can at least get her ready for company. Car'das, you stay here and mind the store."

  "Me?" Car'das asked, feeling his stomach tighten. "But what if they-you know-signal us?"

  "What do you think?" Qennto grunted as he and Maris headed aft. "You answer them."

  Chapter 2

  The victors took their time poking or prodding or gloating over whatever was left of the Hutt ship. From the number of maneuvering drives Car'das could see winking on and off, he guessed there were just the three ships that had been involved in the battle itself, plus the one still standing watchful guard off their flank.

  Connor nets, like ion cannons, were designed to disable and hold rather than destroy, and Qennto and Maris had most of the systems back online by the time their keeper finally made its move. "Qennto, he's shifting position," Car'das called into the comm, watching as the gray ship drifted leisurely past the canopy and settled into a new spot with his stern above and in front of theBargain Hunter 's bow. "Looks like he's setting up for us to follow him."

  "On our way," Qennto called back. "Run the drive up to quarter power."

  The gray ship was starting to pull away when he and Maris returned. "Here we go," Qennto muttered, dropping into his seat and easing them forward. "Any idea where we're going?"

  "The rest of the group's still over by the Hutt ship," Car'das said, squeezing carefully past Maris as he headed back to his own station. "Maybe he's taking us there."

  "Yeah, looks like it," Qennto agreed as he fed more power to the drive. "So far, they're not shooting. That's usually a good sign."

  There were indeed three alien vessels hovering around the remains of Progga's ship when they arrived. Two were duplicates of their fighter-sized escort, while the third was considerably larger. "Not that much bigger than a Republic cruiser, though," Car'das pointed out. "Pretty small, considering what it just did."

  "Looks like they're opening a docking bay for us," Maris said.

  Car'das measured the opening port cover with his eyes. "Not much room in there."

  "Our bow will fit," Qennto assured him. "We can use the forward service tube to get out."

  "We're going to go into their ship?" Maris asked, her voice shaking slightly.

  "Unless they want to use the tube to come in here instead," Qennto told her. "The guys with the guns get to make those decisions." He lifted a warning finger. "The key is for us to keep control of the situation while they're doing it."

  He half turned toward Car'das. "That meansI do all the talking. Unless they ask you something directly, in which case you give them exactly as much answer as they have question. No more. Got it?"

  Car'das swallowed. "Got it."

  Their escort led them to the larger ship's side, and two minutes later Qennto had theBargain Hunter 's bow snugged securely inside the docking collar. A boarding tunnel began extending itself toward the service hatch as Qennto shifted the systems to standby, and by the time the three of them had made it down the ladder the exit sensors indicated the tunnel was in place and pressurized. "Here we go," Qennto muttered, drawing himself up to his full height and keying the release. "Remember, let me do the talking."

  Two of the crew were waiting outside the hatch as it slid open: blue-skinned humanoids with glowing red eyes and blue-black hair, dressed in identical black uniforms sporting green shoulder patches. Each of them had a small but nasty-looking handgun belted at his waist. "Hello," Qennto greeted them as he took a step into the tunnel. "I'm Dubrak Qennto, captain of theBargain Hunter "

  The aliens didn't answer, but merely moved to either side and gestured down the tunnel. "This way?" Qennto asked, pointing with one hand as he took Maris's arm with the other. "Sure."

  He and Maris headed down the tunnel, the ribbed material of the floor bouncing like a swinging bridge with each step. Car'das followed close behind them, studying the aliens out of the corner of his eye as he passed between them. Aside from the unusual skin color and those glowing eyes, they were remarkably human looking. Some offshoot of humanity's ancient expansion into the galaxy? Or were they their own people, with the resemblance purely coincidental?

  Two more aliens were waiting just inside the ship proper, dressed and armed the same way as the first pair except that their shoulder patches were yellow and blue instead of green. They turned in military precision as the three humans arrived and led the way down a smoothly curved corridor made of a pearl-like material with a soft, muted sheen. Car'das ran his fingertips gently along the wall as they walked, trying to decide whether it was metal, ceramic, or some kind of composite.

  Five meters down the corridor their guides came to a halt outside an open doorway and planted themselves on either side. "In there, huh?" Qennto asked. "Sure." He squared his shoulders the way Car'das had often seen him do just before a negotiating session. Then, still holding Maris's arm, he headed inside. Taking one last look at the corridor walls, Car'das followed.

  The room was small and simple, its furnishings consisting of a table and half a dozen chairs. A conference room, Car
'das tentatively identified it, or possibly a duty crew meal room. Another of the blue-skinned aliens was seated on the far side of the table, his glowing eyes steady on his visitors. He wore the same black as their escorts, but with a larger burgundy patch on his shoulder and a pair of elaborately tooled silver bars on his collar. An officer? "Hello," Qennto said cheerfully, coming to a stop at the edge of the table. "I'm Dubrak Qennto, captain of theBargain Hunter: I don't suppose you happen to speak Basic?"

  The alien didn't reply, but Car'das thought he saw his eyebrow twitch slightly. "Maybe we should try one of the Outer Rim trade languages," he offered.

  "Thanks for that brilliant suggestion," Qennto said with a touch of sarcasm. "Greetings to you, noble sir," he continued, switching to Sy Bisti. "We're travelers and traders from a far world, who mean no harm to you or your people."

  Again, there was no response. "You could try Taarja," Maris said.

  "I don't know Taarja very well," Qennto said, still in Sy Bisti. "How about you?" he added, turning to look at the two guards who had followed them into the room. "Do any of you understand Sy Bisti? How about Taarja? Meese Caulf?"

  "Sy Bisti will do," the alien behind the table said calmly in that language.

  Qennto turned back, blinking in surprise. "Did you just say-?"

  "I said Sy Bisti will do," the alien repeated. "Please; be seated."

  "Ah. . thank you," Qennto said, pulling out chairs for himself and Maris and nodding to Car'das to do likewise. The chair backs were contoured a bit oddly for humans, Car'das noticed as he sat down, but not uncomfortably so.

  "I'm Commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo of the Chiss Ascendance," the alien continued. "This is theSpringhawk, Picket Force Two command vessel of the Expansionary Defense Fleet."

  Expansionary Fleet. Car'das felt a shiver run up his back. Did the name imply this Chiss Ascendancy was in the process of expanding outward?

  He hoped not. The last thing the Republic needed right now was a threat from outside its borders. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was doing his best, but there was a lot of resistance to change in the old business-as-usual attitudes and casual corruption of the Coruscant government. Even now, five years after its little misadventure on Naboo, the Trade Federation had vet to be punished for its blatant aggression, despite Palpatine's best efforts to bring it to judgment. Resentment and frustration simmered throughout the galaxy, with rumors of new reform or secession movements surfacing every other week.

  Qennto loved it, of course. Government bureaucracies with their dozens of fees, service charges, and flat-out prohibitions were an ideal operating environment for small-scale smuggling operations like his. And Car'das had to admit that during his time aboard theBargain Hunter, their activities had earned a very respectable profit.

  What Qennto perhaps failed to understand was that while a little governmental instability could be useful, too much would be as bad for smugglers as it would be for anyone else.

  A full-scale war, needless to say, would be as bad as it got. For everyone.

  "Andyou are. .?" Mitth'raw'nuruodo asked, shifting his glowing red eyes to Car'das.

  Car'das opened his mouth- "I'm Dubrak Qennto, Commander," Qennto pill in before he could speak. "Captain of the-"

  "And you are. .?" Mitth'raw'nuruodo repeated, his eyes still on Car'das, a slight but noticeable emphasis on the pronoun.

  Car'das looked sideways at Qennto, got a microscopic nod. "I'm Jorj Car'das," he said. "Crewer on the freighterBargain Hunter:"

  "And these?" Mitth'raw'nuruodo asked, gesturing to the others.

  Again, Car'das looked at Qennto. The other's expression had gone rather sour, but he nevertheless gave his junior crewer another small nod. "This is my captain, Dubrak Qennto," Car'das told the commander. "And his-"Girlfriend? Copilot? Partner? "-his second in command, Maris Ferasi."

  Mitth'raw'nuruodo nodded to each in turn, then turned back to Car'das. "Why are you here?"

  "We're Corellian traders, from one of the systems in the Galactic Republic," Car'das said.

  "K'rell'n," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said, as if trying out the word. "Traders, you say? Not explorers or scouts?"

  "No, not at all," Car'das assured him. "We hire out our ship to take cargo between star systems."

  "And the other vessel?" Mitth'raw'nuruodo asked.

  "Pirates of some sort," Qennto put in before Car'das could answer. "We were running from them when we had some trouble with our hyperdrive, which is how we ended up here."

  "Did you know these pirates?" Mitth'raw'nuruodo asked.

  "How could we possibly-?" Qennto began.

  "Yes, we've had trouble with them before," Car'das interrupted. There'd been something in Mitth'raw'nuruodo's voice as he asked that question. . "I think they were gunning specifically for us."

  "You must be carrying a valuable cargo."

  "It's nothing fancy," Qennto said, shooting a warning look at Car'das. "A shipment of furs and exotic luxury garments. We're most grateful to you for coming to our aid."

  Car'das felt his throat tighten. The bulk of their cargo was indeed luxury clothing, but sewn into the filigree collar of one of the furs was an assortment of smuggled firegems. If Mitth'raw'nuruodo decided to search the shipment and found them, there was going to be a very unhappy Drixo the Hutt in theBargain Hunter 's future.

  "You're welcome," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. "I'd be curious to see what your people consider luxury garments. Perhaps you'll show me your cargo before you leave."

  "I'd be delighted," Qennto said. "Does that mean you're releasing us?"

  "Soon," Mitth'raw'nuruodo assured him. "First I need to examine your vessel and confirm that you're indeed the innocent travelers you claim."

  "Of course, of course," Qennto said easily. "We'll give you a complete tour anytime you want."

  "Thank you," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. "But that can wait until we reach my base. Until then, resting quarters have been prepared for you. Perhaps later you'll permit me to show you Chiss hospitality"

  "We would be both grateful and honored, Commander," Qennto said, inclining his head in a small bow. "I'd just like to mention, though, that we're on a very tight schedule, which our unexpected detour has made that much tighter. We'd appreciate it if you could send us on our way as quickly as possible."

  "Of course," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said. "The base isn't far."

  "Is it in this system?" Qennto asked. He lifted a hand before the Chiss could answer. "Sorry, sorry-none of my business."

  "True," Mitth'raw'nuruodo agreed. "However, it will do no harm to tell you that it's in a different system entirely."

  "Ah," Qennto said. "May I ask when we'll be leaving to go there?"

  "We've already left," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said mildly. "We made the jump to hyperspace approximately four standard minutes ago."

  Qennto frowned. "Really? I didn't hear or feel anything."

  "Perhaps our hyperdrive systems are superior to yours," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said, standing up. "Now, if you'll follow me, I'll escort you to the resting area."

  He led the way another five meters down the corridor to another door, where he touched a striped panel on the wall. "I'll send word when I want you again," he said as the door slid open.

  "We'll look forward to further conversation," Qennto said, giving a truncated bow as he eased Maris behind him through the doorway. "Thank you, Commander."

  The two of them disappeared inside. Inclining his head to the commander, Car'das followed.

  The room was compactly furnished, containing a three-tier bunk bed against one wall and a fold-down table and bench seats on the other. Beside the bunk bed were three large drawers built into the wall, while to the right was a door leading into what seemed to be a compact refresher station.

  "What do you think he's going to do with us?" Maris murmured, looking around.

  "He'll let us go," Qennto assured her, glancing into the refresher station and then sitting down on the lowest cot, hunching forward to keep from bumping his head on the one
above it. "The real question is whether we'll be taking the firegems with us."

  Car'das cleared his throat. "Should we be talking about this?" he asked, looking significantly around the room.

  "Relax," Qennto growled. "They don't speak a word of Basic." His eyes narrowed. "And as long as we're on the subject of speaking, why the frizz did you tell him we knew Progga?"

  "There was something in his eves and voice just then," Car'das said. "Something that said he already knew all about it, and that we'd better not get caught lying to him."

  Qennto snorted. "That's ridiculous."

  "Maybe there were survivors from Progga's crew," Maris suggested.