Hunted (Space Rogue Book 2)

by Jay Toney

  "I will have to use the cabin previously assigned to Tanya and Natasha."

  "I understand."

  "Shar'tu asked, "Were Tanya and Natasha the friends, that you spoke of, who recently passed?"

  "They were."

  "I would consider it an honor if my mate and I were assigned to that cabin."

  "Persephone, assign Shar'tu and his mate to Tanya's and Natasha's cabin."

  "What would you like me to do with their possessions? They still haven't been removed from the cabin."

  "Have the clothing divided among the Iniguar women, and have four sets of jumpsuits sent to each cabin for the men. Have everything else sent to my cabin. I'll sort through it later."

  Mike left us, in a hurry to start researching the Iniguar technology. Amber, Jewel and I led our new Iniguar officers to the bridge. We got there in time to watch Persephone launch the Iniguar shuttle. We watched its flight on the main viewscreen. When it reached a safe distance from our fleets, the shuttle exploded. The Iniguar were satisfied that honor had been kept and entered hyperspace.

  "Until now, I didn't have enough officers for a second watch on the bridge. We normally report to the bridge two hours before entering or exiting hyperspace. While we are in hyperspace, there is no need for anyone to be on the bridge. I would like you and your officers to be my second watch."

  "It will be our pleasure to serve you in this capacity."

  "For now, I have a shortage of Marauder pilots. Can any of you fly assault shuttles?"

  "All four of us fly similar craft for sport. We cannot fly individually in combat with the limitations our bonds. It would be dishonorable to let our mates die the slow death if we were lost in battle. If you permit us to fly with our mates, we can join you in combat."

  "That is how I lost both Tanya and Natasha. They were bonded to each other. I understand the need for you to stay together. You may fly together with your mates. In a way, I fly with mine, just not in the same starfighter."

  I led the group to Shar'tu's cabin, "The cabin is not as large as mine, but I think you will find that there is ample room for you and your wife. You will find the furnishings familiar; they are from the Iniguar world of Invaldi II." I opened the cabin door, and we all entered the cabin. Tanya's and Natasha's possessions had already been removed, and the suite cleaned.

  "There must be some mistake. Are you sure this cabin isn't for all of us to share? On our ships, space for comfort is unheard of. Even the captains of our ships do not rate such extravagant quarters. It must be so, on your ships too. I couldn't help but notice that you are using hangar space for cargo storage, as we also do."

  "I assure you, this suite is just for you and your wife. The other officers will be assigned to quarters identical to this one. They should be ready any moment."

  Persephone's voice filled the cabin, "Captain, cabins B-7, B-8, and C-4 are ready for our new officers."

  "We use AI technology in our ships too, but none with such a pleasant voice." All of our AIs use a male persona and holographic image," Shar'tu explained.

  I hadn't thought about giving our new AI a holographic image. Natasha rarely used hers since her avatar was activated 30 years ago. She preferred using her avatar and only used the holographic emitter when she wasn't able to use the synth. When I had more time, I would have to talk to Randolph about changing Persephone's default settings, making her male instead of the female personality she was using. I would have to either use one of the programmed images stored in its core memory or create a new a hologram for it to use. The adjustment to the AI's new personality would be easier for me that way.

  I left Shar'tu and his officers to get settled into their new cabins and explore the ship. Amber, Jewel and I headed back to the bridge. There was still work that had to be done before we could relax and rest.

  I led the fleet back into the debris field created by the Alliance. This time we passed through the wreckage slowly. Amber and Persephone probed the debris, searching for survivors with the ship's sensors. This time they found lifeboats and escape pods. All of them riddled with holes. Instead of picking them up or leaving them behind, the Alliance used them for target practice. "I swear I will avenge the lives of the people the Alliance has taken.

  Persephone, get us out of here. Set our course for Arradin."

  Persephone changed our heading, putting us on the proper vector to enter hyperspace for the next star system. She transferred our coordinates to the Vengeance and the Lucy, synchronized our ships for the jump, then engaged the hyperdrive.

  ****

  We entered the Arradin star system. This star system was the first of the galaxy's fringe star systems that we would be visiting. We would have to run a lot further, heading spinward around the galaxy's outer edge, if we were to be safe from the Alliance. They will be following and hunting us for as long as they could find traces of our passage. With the price they put on my head, the Alliance military and bounty hunters after the reward wouldn't be giving up anytime soon. My friends and I would do our best to let make their pursuit a costly one.

  Our deflector shields did their best to repel any objects ahead of us, but the area we found ourselves in was a large, crowded ice field full of various sized pieces of ice. Our sensors were useless. The ice reflected our sensor signals back at us, making it look like we were in an impenetrable fog. Occasionally we collided with large chunks of ice, making a deafening noise. We slowed our speed to reduce the possibility of damage from the pieces that got through our deflector shields.

  Our forward view changed and was filled with Red's image. "Nathaniel, it has been a few years since I last visited this star system. I use to mine these ice fields and sell the ice on Thanatos, in the Nueva Zelanda star system. The ice is pure. We can collect and melt the ice and use it to fill our water tanks. We can also use it for reaction mass. My fuel tanks are getting low. I need to refuel in this system anyhow. With all of this ice, I can do it for free."

  "My fuel tanks are running low too. We'll fill our tanks here before departing the Oort cloud."

  We spent a week using our cargo shuttles and Marauders to gather ice. The ice was unloaded onto the shuttle bays floor. Persephone diverted power to the environmental systems to produce more heat in the starboard nacelle. The ice wasn't just frozen, its temperature was only a fraction of a degree above absolute zero. It would take months or years to melt on its own.

  The ice slowly melted, and evaporated as its temperature increased. The crewmen and women that were working on breaking the ice apart into small pieces wore environmental suits to protect them from the extreme cold. The small chunks of ice were scooped up with a shovel and placed into heated troughs and melted. The water was drained and pumped into our water tanks and our fuel tanks for reaction mass.

  Our engines superheated the water, breaking it down into molecules. The molecules were broken down into atoms, and the atoms split apart, and the energy they released was used for propulsion.

  It took a lot of power to release the power contained within the atomic particles, but it took very little reaction mass to supply our engines with the fuel they needed. Almost anything could be used, but hydrogen was the most abundant element with an almost limitless supply.

  It took a month to melt all of the ice we gathered and to pump the water into our nearly empty tanks. After we finished the mining operation, we headed in a direction that I hoped would lead us to the inner system. Even if it didn't, once we pushed our way through the Oort cloud, we would be able to get our bearings and correct our course.

  It took three days to break through the ice, into clear space. The system's star, and the planets that orbited it were ahead of us. According to Amber's sensor readings, there was a space station orbiting th
e second planet. We set our course to it.

  Quarantine

  The Lucy docked on the space stations blue docking ring and opened up for business. The freighters reputation did not extend this far from its home in the San Paulos star system, but word from the curious stationers quickly spread. It's temporary captain, David and the officers he brought on board with him, were doing their best to ensure the Lucy continued to thrive under his command.

  The Lucy had a reputation for having the best ladies in the adult entertainment business, not watering down the drinks they served or the other recreational drugs available aboard her. There was a strict rule that everyone followed, no gossip. The ladies were professionals and didn't talk about their clients.

  My ship was directed to the bottom docking ring. The red docking ring had the reputation of being the trouble ring on every space station I visited. If I were smuggling and trading on the black market, it would be a good thing. This time I wasn't smuggling, only because I didn't have any room in my smuggling holds. The areas under my deck plates that I used to hide contraband were full of stolen gold, platinum, and gems from the Alliance. I didn't have room for the drugs or weapons that were sought after on the black market.

  Red moored the Vengeance far enough away from the space station that he could keep an eye on both of our starships, in case there was trouble. In past times, he mined the ice in this star system's Oort cloud but had little to do with the people that inhabited this star system. The knowledge he had about the people who lived here was second hand from other spacers who visited the space station; none of it was good.

  My starship was overloaded with cargo salvaged from the Valley Forge. I needed to make room and could only do so by selling the freight I had on board or dumping it in space for scavengers to collect. I listed the merchandise I wanted to sell on the space stations computer network and included my silver stolen silver. I priced the silver ten percent below the space stations going rate, hoping to convert it to credits which were more accessible for spending.

  Some of the credits would be used to purchase staples for Doc and Rosie to use in the galley. We had enough premade meals, frozen in a deep freeze, to last us for years, but I preferred home cooked meals. I took advantage of Doc's cooking whenever he was in the mood to cook for us. Now that he had some competition in the kitchen, the meals were regular with him and Rosie preparing a meal once a day.

  Most of the crew were happy with the simplicity of flash heating their meals. Like most space-faring people, they lost the desire to cook their meals. Most spacers continued to eat the manufactured meals even when we were in space dock. The restaurants aboard the space stations mainly catered to the stationers who lived and worked aboard the space station, or visitors from the planet they orbited.

  Shar'tu, his wife, and the other Iniguar that made my ship their new home didn't have any problems adjusting to our diet. Most Iniguar ate a vegetarian diet, not because of choice, but from need. The demands of their population made meat scarce on their worlds. We kept a wide variety of meat, aboard the Persephone, kept frozen in a deep freeze. Nearly all of the premade meals contained a serving of poultry, reptile, pork, beef, or fish.

  Aboard the Iniguar starships, the serving sizes were smaller and choices of meals fewer. It was necessary with the higher population aboard their ships. Not only did the captain have to provide for his crew, but he also had to provide for their mates and families too, and he had to do it on a budget. I was learning that it cost a fortune to maintain a starship and its crew. I was fortunate to have stolen my wealth from the Alliance.

  I had Persephone pay out an additional 500 credits to our new officers before they took their leave on the space station. I couldn't pay back everything that they sacrificed when they left their former lives to bring us the data crystals containing their history and their latest technology, but I could start by giving them enough credits to purchase new clothing and essentials. The men couldn't continue wearing ship jumpsuits and coveralls all of the time. Their women already made the necessary alterations to the clothes they were given and were wearing them.

  If we could make replication technology work for us, it would help with fresh food, spare parts, and even luxury items that the crew could enjoy in their spare time.

  Aside from the clothing that I already gave away, Natasha's and Tanya's possessions fit in a small box. Tanya rarely collected anything preferring to spend her credits on having fun and get rich quick schemes. I had to admit that her last two endeavors were pretty good. I kept her casino program. It was a simulation that I might be able to modify and use. Tanya didn't have any relatives, at least none that she cared about or acknowledged. The closest thing she had to a will was a handwritten note leaving everything she owned to Jewel, Amber, and me. I gave Tanya's and Natasha's matching blasters to Amber and Jewel. I also gave them their energy swords and a few pieces of jewelry that were in the bottom of the box. All that remained was a couple of memory crystals. I put them inside of my closet for now. Later, I would take a look at the files stored in them. The only thing Tanya and Natasha had left to show that they were ever here was our memories of them.

  My day was going from bad to worse. Amber and Jewel joined me wearing full-length dresses. I was sure I saw everything in their wardrobes, but I didn't recall ever seeing anything that resembled the dresses they were wearing. They both had beautiful legs, and I enjoyed looking at them. Today they looked like revivalists from a purist group. Aside from their fingertips and faces, no bare skin was exposed.

  I strapped on my gun belt and clipped my energy sword to its belt. Station protocol required that we visited the space station unarmed. The rule was supposed to be for our safety. In the past, there were more than a few spacers who drank a little too much or took mind-altering drugs and fought each other or worse, the stationers.

  I docked my ship on the red docking ring. Spacers with seedy reputations frequently used the red docking ring for their business. I didn't have a reputation for smuggling or dealing with stolen goods, at least not here. I never visited this star system before today. I had done business aboard other space stations, in the red ring's black markets. It was never safe to go unarmed. Before anyone left the ship, I made an announcement requiring all crew going aboard the space station to go armed.

  Jewel, Amber, and I walked the rings deck, looking through the windows of the different stores we passed. We had to walk because the ring's transport system was shut down for repairs. Theft of the transport car's induction coils for their copper was a common problem. Most space stations replaced their maglev cars with newer ones that used repulsor fields to levitate and propel the cars to save on repair cost.

  It didn't matter; we had no place that we needed to get to in particular. I just didn't want to walk and wasn't going to walk any further than this sections bulkhead doors. Getting off of the ship gave us a chance to relax, and have a little fun.

  Most stores and businesses weren't any different than the other shops scattered throughout the space station. There were only a few that weren't, and these were the ones that gave the red ring its reputation. I was considering turning around now. The three of us were walking past a section filled with flophouses.

  Cheap sleep berths were available for visiting spacers on every docking ring, but these didn't rent by the day or night; they rented by the hour as did the ladies waiting for their rental.

  "People like them are what give the profession a bad name. They would be a lot better off if they banded together and invested in a proper place to conduct their business," Amber commented.

  I used them plenty of times. They didn't have much room for their occupants. They barely had enough room for the mattress they contained and enough height to sit. As far as amenities go, they had an overhead light, ventilation, a curtain for privacy, and disposable sh
eets and blankets. The better and more expensive units had access to the space stations comms.

  Amber stopped and spun us around; she wasn't going to walk any further in the direction we were heading. Both Jewel and Amber were acting like the purists they resembled. My day couldn't get any worse, or so I thought.

  Five young men, brandishing daggers surrounded us. I looked towards a station security officer for help with these urchins. He saw me looking his way, made eye contact, then turned his back towards us. He was probably making a healthy cut from whatever these guttersnipes stole from visitors.

  I was armed, but there were five of them. I couldn't stop all of the gang members before they could hurt Jewel or Amber. They made stabbing and slashing motions with their daggers, backing us into an alley. One of the gang members grabbed Jewel's dress and tore the bodice open. They didn't move us into the empty passageway just to rob us. They could have done that in the public passage. They intended to rape Jewel and Amber.

  It was a mistake. My anger set aside any caution on my part. I pulled my energy sword from my belt and in a swift motion, my sword sliced through flesh and bone severing the arm of the person who tore Jewel's dress. He dropped to the floor, cradling the stump that replaced his right arm. He would either have to hurry to have it surgically reattached, or go through tissue regeneration to regenerate a new arm. He probably couldn't afford either procedure and would have to learn to live without it.

  The other four turned to me. It was a fatal mistake for the guttersnipes. It gave my Jewel and Amber the time they needed to pull their blasters from ankle holsters hidden by their dresses. Now I understood why they were wearing the dresses. They each shot a gang member. Their blasters were set to kill, and the bolts of energy hit them in their backs, burned through their torsos. There wasn't much blood. The high temperature from the blaster's energy bolts cauterized the blood vessels as they burned their way through the bodies. The urchins were dead before they hit the ground.