by M. R. Forbes
“Ninety-seven seconds, Queenie,” Ruby replied.
Abbey took a seat, pulling the built-in straps over her chest and attaching it between her legs. She glanced over at the others. Pik raised his hand in acknowledgment.
“Speed is key here, Rejects,” Abbey said. “Ruby will dump the Imp near Feru’s orbit and head into FTL again, taking up a position still in sensor range, but hopefully far enough out that PD and any Republic orbital defense will decide to observe and let border patrol deal with the problem. It’s not like our space bird is all that imposing, and I think her presence will leave them a bit confused. Meanwhile, we’ll have twenty minutes total to find Mann and get him out. We have to make it back into orbit for the rendezvous, or the odds are high that the Faust is going to get blown apart by a Republic warship while we’re fragging around on the surface. If that happens, none of us go home, and we all die. If Mann dies, we all die. If the Imp gets knocked out, we all die.”
“Is there any scenario where we don’t die?” Benhil said. “Because this is the worst battle cry I’ve ever fragging heard.”
“You want me to hold you while you piss, too, Jester?” Abbey asked. “It’s honest. We have to be clean and on point or we’re fragged. There’s only one way we live, and it’s by doing everything right.”
“I’ve got your back, Queenie,” Pik said.
“Do you, Okay?” Abbey replied, not letting him off the hook for his earlier resistance.
“Yeah. I'm sorry about before. I just thought we had an easy way out, you know? No offense, but I’m a little claustrophobic riding around in this thing, and Jester smells.”
“I smell?” Benhil said. "Try getting a whiff of yourself sometime."
Pik laughed.
“Twenty seconds, Queenie,” Ruby said.
“Lucifer, are you set?”
“Roger. Firing her up now.”
The Imp shuddered for a moment as the reactor came online. Abbey put her hand on her thigh, to the belt wrapped around the hellsuit. A pistol with an extended magazine sat on her left side. A Republic Army standard issue knife rested on her right.
“Ten seconds,” Ruby said.
Abbey leaned her head back. Twenty minutes. They had a general idea where on the planet Mann was because of the beacon, but otherwise they were going in blind. What were the odds they could get in, grab him, and get out in twenty minutes?
She didn’t want to know, but she was sure they weren’t very good.
“Mark,” Ruby said as the Faust blinked into existence outside of Feru.
“Lucifer, punch it,” Abbey said.
“Roger.”
Then she was shoved back into her seat as the Imp’s thrusters fired full-bore, sending them rocketing forward toward the shielded hangar opening. The force field dropped for a split second as they hurtled through, giving them passage out into space. Abbey could see through the Imp’s forward canopy from her position, and she felt her jaw clench at the sight of the Republic battleship hovering in orbit ahead of them. Her eyes caught sight of the ship’s identifier a moment later. The Driver.
“Returning to FTL,” Ruby said. “Good hunting, Queenie. Good hunting, Rejects.”
“The Faust is away,” Bastion said. “I’m picking up activity from the surface. It looks like PD is sending units our way. Oh, and we’re being hailed.”
“We’re a shuttle full of escaped convicts,” Abbey said. “I have a feeling they won’t give us the VIP treatment no matter what we say.”
“Aww, Queenie, you’re so negative,” Pik said.
“I’m getting action from the Driver now,” Bastion said. “It looks like they’re sending an escort.”
“Any kind of escort they have, I don’t want,” Benhil said.
“Can you get around them?” Abbey asked.
“I’ve got a good vector, but these are starfighters we’re talking about. Looks like Rapiers.”
“You’re telling me this thing can’t outrun a Rapier? What kind of crap did Mann give us?”
Bastion laughed. “Approaching orbit. Hold on.”
The Imp shifted in space, rolling and pointing toward the planet, the view constantly shifting and changing as Bastion adjusted vectors to avoid the fire from the incoming starfighters. Abbey saw a missile go streaking past, missing them by less than a meter and detonating way too close. The shuttle rocked as it crashed through the small burst of quickly vaporized air, and Bastion altered direction, shifting them perpendicular to the planet.
“Here comes PD,” he said. “Are those Daggers?” He laughed again. “I don’t think I’ve seen a Dagger in fifteen years. Isn’t this where Eagan Heavyworks built their ships? You’d think they could have provided some upgrades. No wonder the Outworlders were able to get in here unnoticed.”
The Imp shook again, a tone sounding in the cockpit.
“Shit,” Bastion said.
“Can you stop talking and concentrate on getting us down?” Abbey said.
“I’m more focused when I’m talking,” Bastion replied.
“You just got hit.”
“It was a lucky shot. Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yeah. Hold on.”
The Imp twisted, the inertia pushing Abbey around in her restraints despite the dampeners. A Dagger appeared in front of them, and she watched as a round of fire from the shuttle’s forward guns tore into it, blowing it silently apart.
“Lucifer, what the frag?” she shouted. “Those are friendlies.”
“What?” Bastion said. “I don’t know much about the company you keep. Well, I do, now. Queenie, unless I’m blind, they don’t look very friendly to me.”
“They’re trying to defend their planet. You know, the one that had two orbital stations destroyed along with a Republic fleet? Can you blame them for attacking us?”
“No, but they should expect us to fight back. Hold on.”
The Imp maneuvered again, shooting past a Rapier as it tried to get an attack vector. The planet was approaching rapidly.
“Anyway, as I was saying, someone on that planet is holding Captain Mann prisoner. That means they’re involved in this shit, one way or another. And Mann told us to do whatever it takes to recover the ships. You heard him say it. Kill whoever you have to. Destroy whatever you have to. Just get it done. If you want a chance to get Mann out alive, if you think this really is bigger than two ships, we can’t afford to be above killing Republic soldiers and destroying Republic assets. I’m sorry, Queenie, but we can’t. It’s them or us. You need to make a firm decision and stick with it.”
Abbey stared ahead, through the forward viewport as another Dagger flashed past. She knew Bastion could have taken it down if he wanted to. He was giving her a choice, waiting for her orders. Damn him for making a good argument.
“Do what you have to,” she said reluctantly. “You’re right.”
“Thank you, ma’am,” Bastion replied.
They sank deeper into the atmosphere, the Imp staying smooth as Bastion guided it in, still slipping and jerking and altering course to avoid the fighters giving chase.
“Beacon is six hundred klicks ahead,” Bastion said. “Four Rapiers on our six, and I’ve got visual on two more Daggers incoming. I won’t kill them unless I have to.”
The Imp rolled, sliding to the left and inverting. Tracers skipped by from the Rapiers, narrowly missing the shuttle as Bastion expertly avoided the fire. The Daggers were coming on hard ahead, and he started adjusting to avoid them before canceling the maneuver, triggering the forward gun batteries instead. Heavy slugs pounded the two starfighters, creating a plume of smoke as they both began tumbling away almost in unison.
“I had to,” Bastion said, the shuttle blowing through the smoke.
He sounded a little too pleased for Abbey to believe it.
“Two hundred klicks,” he said a handful of seconds later. “Prepare for ingress. I’m going to circle around to throw the Rapiers long enough that I can land.”
“Roger,” Abbey said. “You heard him, Rejects.
On your feet.”
The others stood, keeping themselves firm to the ground with the magnetic attachments on their lightsuits. She didn’t have that luxury, and she kept a tight grip on an overhead beam as she made her way toward the rear of the shuttle.
“I’ve never been to Feru before,” Bastion said, keeping up his dialogue while he avoided the attack. “It seems like a nice enough planet. A little humid, maybe, but all of the greenery is nice. Queenie, did you know my father was a botanist?”
“What?”
“A botanist. Someone who studies plants. He went all over the galaxy helping catalog native plants on worlds with pre-existing ecosystems. I went with him a couple of times. It isn’t as dry as it - approaching the beacon. Damn, it looks like it’s in the middle of a jungle. Well, a jungle right beside a huge compound. I bet he’s in there.”
“Did you need a crystal ball to figure that out?” Benhil said.
“Shut up,” Bastion said. “Blowing past. Hold on.”
The Imp shot over the top of the compound, streaking by with the Rapiers still tailing.
“They have to know we’re coming,” Airi said. “What if they kill Captain Mann before we can get to him?”
“If they were going to kill him they would have done it already,” Abbey said. “There’s no benefit to leading us here.”
“Queenie, we’ve got a problem,” Bastion said. “I don’t see anywhere to land this thing down there, and even if I did, there wouldn’t be enough time to touch down and get airborne before the Republic thruster heads catch up.”
“Damn. Give me an option.”
“I can slow down over the top. You can jump.”
“I’m not wearing an augmented suit,” Abbey replied. “I can’t jump.”
“I can,” Airi said.
“Me, too,” Pik said. “It’s okay if you have to sit this one out, Boss. We’ll take care of business for you.”
Abbey didn’t hesitate. What other choice did they have? “Affirmative. Fury, Okay, Jester, you’re up. I’m out. Fury, you have the lead.”
“Roger,” Airi said.
Abbey leaned over and hit the controls to open the shuttle’s rear hatch. She almost fell over as the Imp rocked to the side to avoid enemy fire, but Airi reached out and caught her.
“Thanks,” she said.
“Anytime,” Airi replied.
Abbey looked out behind them, at the three Rapiers still giving pursuit. Then she looked down. They were still almost fifty meters above the landscape, way too far for her to jump, and at the edge of what the lightsuits were rated for.
“Lucifer?” she said.
“On my mark,” he said. “I’m going to hard stop. Hold on.”
She grabbed the side of the shuttle in anticipation.
“Mark,” Bastion said.
The reactor screamed, the thrusters shutting down, the anti-gravity coils going to full power to compensate. They came to a shuddering slow-down, the Rapiers shooting by on both sides, sending a final volley as they did. It pinged into the shuttle on their right, the slugs missing Pik by inches.
“Bastards,” Pik said.
“Now,” Airi said. Then she was gone, out of the shuttle and headed for the courtyard of the compound below.
“See you soon, Queenie,” Pik said. He saluted as he threw himself from the shuttle. “Bombs away.”
Benhil watched from the edge for a second and then turned to salute her as he threw himself out.
“Clear your head, we’re on the move,” Bastion said.
“How the hell are we going to retrieve them?”
“I can outfox those tools in the fighters with my eyes closed. I’ll get a better approach set up while they’re inside. Watch your head, Queenie. The Rapiers are circling back, and I don’t want you to lose it to the hatch.”
Abbey watched the falling Rejects extend their arms, the gossamer film between flowing out to slow their descent. She looked to the cockpit, where Bastion was leaning over, looking back at her.
“What’s the holdup?” he asked.
“Lose my head?” Abbey said. “Maybe I can make the jump after all.”
“I don’t think-”
She didn’t wait for him to finish.
She threw herself from the shuttle.
8
She didn’t think all that much about the fall. After all, it wasn’t the fall that would kill her.
Then again, after what had happened on Drune, she was pretty sure the fall wouldn’t kill her either.
It would just hurt real bad.
She watched the scene below her. Benhil, Airi, and Pik were almost on the ground. A squad of guards had emerged from one of the doors and was moving into a defensive position, spreading out behind a half wall ahead of the main structure. The Rejects spotted them immediately, finding their own cover and prepping their rifles.
Nobody seemed to notice her.
She could feel the Gift beneath her skin. She reached inward for it, trying to use it to help break her fall, even if she wasn’t sure how. She didn’t feel it burning. She didn’t feel it responding. She only had a few seconds. She knew there was one thing that had seemed to cause it to react. She needed to get angry.
She turned her thoughts to Hayley. These assholes were trying to keep her from her daughter. They were trying to kill her teammates. They were holding the key to her survival captive. And, if she hit the ground without the damned Gift, she was going to break her damned legs and probably get shot to hell again.
She felt the burning beneath her skin, rising up from her feet and into her ankles, from her ankles to her knees. Gloritant Thraven had given her this. He had hoped to control her, to use her. Mann was using her too, but at least he had good intentions. At least he wanted to help protect people. Thraven had forced her to agree to kill innocent individuals. He was pushing her toward a place she didn’t want to be, whether he knew it or not.
The ground came on hard and fast. She hit if feet first, the impact sending out a shockwave that seemed to spread around her, the kinetic energy being pushed outward instead of absorbed into her body. Her knees flexed slightly, and then she was still, standing, and unharmed.
She allowed herself a slight smile. Then she got to work.
“Fury, Okay, I’m down,” she said. “We can’t afford to get pinned here. We have ten minutes. That’s not a lot of time.”
“Affirmative,” Airi replied.
“Cover me.”
“Okay, Boss,” Pik said.
Abbey pulled the knife and the pistol as she ran toward the side of the main building, perpendicular to the guards. They still hadn’t noticed her, and they were even more distracted when the Rejects started firing on their position. Bullets bit into the wall and the side of the building while the guards hunkered down behind it.
Abbey stayed close to the wall, coming at them from the side, raising her pistol and aiming without the assistance of the TCU. She fired, two bullets for each guard, hitting three of them before they realized they were under attack from their flank. They turned her way, staying low while Benhil, Airi, and Abbey continued to fire. They didn’t see Pik running toward them, and he vaulted the wall, grabbing two of the guards and throwing them hard into the side of the building. The remaining soldier stood to run, only to be hit by Airi’s assault.
“Clear,” Pik said.
Abbey joined him at the door the guards had streamed from. He tapped the controls, but it didn’t open.
“Locked,” he said.
“I thought you couldn’t make the jump,” Airi said, reaching them. “But I’m not surprised you changed your mind.”
“Or that you survived the fall,” Pik said.
“If I had my softsuit and gear I could open this in seconds,” Abbey said.
“We’ll have to do it the old fashioned way,” Pik said. He stepped back and waved his arms. “Get ready. They might have more guards on the other side.
The Rejects leveled their weapons. Pik charged the door,
turning to put his shoulder against it. Trovers were big and strong on their own. Augmented by a suit, even a lightsuit, they were massively powerful. The door agreed, bending inward as he slammed into it.
“One more,” he said, backing up and ramming it again. It folded under the pressure, breaking off its guides and collapsing loudly into a kitchen. Pik held his arm out toward it. “Ladies first.”
“Too kind,” Abbey said, moving into the building. She scanned the kitchen. “Clear.”
“How do we find Captain Mann in here?” Benhil asked. “This place is huge.”
“We don’t need to find him,” Abbey said. “We just need to find somebody who can take us to him.”
“In other words, don’t kill anyone else?” Pik said.
“Not yet.”
“Okay.”
They moved through the kitchen and out the doors, into a large, open space with tables arranged around the edges and clear floor in the center. It was vacant as well, and they followed the doorway into a wide corridor.
“Queenie,” Bastion said. “How’s it going down there?”
“We’re inside, trying to find Mann. How are things with you?”
“Getting a little bored with flying circles around these monkeys. I really want to shoot them down, if only for their incompetence.”
“If it buys us time, do it,” Abbey said, drawing a look from Pik. “What? Is there a difference between killing one and killing a thousand? It’s still killing.”
Pik smiled. “Welcome to my worldview.”
Abbey moved out into another hallway, keeping her posture alert and ready. Airi stayed close, her rifle positioned on her left side.
“I’m reading something on IR,” she said. “Coming this way.”
“How many?”
“Uh, I got something, too,” Pik said. “It looks like they’re trying to surround us.”
“This way,” Abbey said, leading them forward at an increased pace. She wished she had a TCU so she could see what they saw. “How far?”
“Fifty meters,” Airi replied. “Next hallway after that door.” She motioned toward a door ahead of them. It looked like it was made of actual wood.
“It’s going to get ugly in here,” Pik said, turning around as the first of the squads behind them closed in. He started shooting, backing them off.
