Vin paused as he watched the Armadillo creep closer. Charley could see that he felt cornered, like a rat in a trap. Without another word he settled on top of her, but turned his gaze away. She didn’t care in the slightest as long as he was in position.
The scout lurched as the Armadillo drew alongside it. Charley rolled a grey pellet across the floor where it dinged against the far wall. Smoke began filling the cabin.
Vin said.
He hooked his hands into the storage handles on the wall, anchoring himself across Charley so they didn’t float away in the zero gravity. Charley couldn’t help but notice Vin’s hot breath on her neck. At that moment she realized she was attracted to the man despite his many faults. Just being near him sent adrenalin coursing through her veins. Before she could process the troubling realization, movement at the top hatch drew her attention. Through the thick smoke she saw the muzzle of a high powered shotgun, then a thick-set man in an armored air suit. The bandit climbed down into the cabin and was followed by three others with standard suits.
Charley’s air suit was picking up their general com channel. Her heart almost stopped when a searcher’s boot nudged Vin’s limp leg. The ex-pirate had the good sense to play dead, his entire body weight pressed against Charley.
came a second voice.
Risking a look over Vin’s shoulder, Charley could see three figures hovering in zero gravity over them.
She thrust her blasters under Vin’s thick arms and began firing like a maniac. Helmets cracked, shattered and filled with blood as she fired from point blank range. The bandit trio were strafed with magenta plasma bolts and thrown back against the far wall where they floated like rag dolls. Charley realized she was still howling like a banshee when Vin gripped her arms.
Vin followed close behind, narrowly avoiding the bandit’s fourth and final shotgun blast. The limpet mine sent a precise explosion through the armored material, causing just enough damage to create a pinhole. The bandit’s head exploded from decompression, his helmet suddenly smeared with blood and brains. Despite the horrific violence, Charley couldn’t help but grin as she focused on the Armadillo now towing the scout at cruise speed. She exchanged a look with Vin. The pilot of that craft, referred to by the armored bandit as ‘Fletch’, may not be aware that his comrades were dead. Pulling hand over hand, Charley followed Vin across the tow line and onto the Armadillo’s roof. Unlike the scout, the fighter had a separate airlock. Charley breathed a sigh of relief when the outer hatch slid open to admit them. The pilot must’ve figured his cronies were returning. Vin dropped through first and lifted Charley down. Through the inner airlock door, which was closed, they saw the pilot sitting in the cockpit.
“Stand up,” she said in a voice dripping with menace. She was surprised at how easily it came to her. The pilot froze, clearly struggling to process the situation. Realizing that any sudden movement would result in his death, he stood with his hands clasped behind his head.
“Over to the port bulkhead,” Charley spat. Watching with interest, Vin stood at her shoulder.
“Thank you for sparing me,” the bandit said. “I only just joined and haven’t killed anyone.”
Charley regarded the young man intently. He’d made a bad life choice - the Night Runners prided themselves on their brutality, even if his claim of innocence was true. For that, he needed to pay. It was less about him and more about making a statement. A dire warning. She squeezed the trigger and forced herself to watch the bandit’s brains splatter across the bulkhead.
Vin looked at Charley in astonishment. “Did you change your mind?”
“No,” Charley said with a grin. “I didn’t want his brains on my dashboard.”
“Our dashboard,” Vin said, squeezing past her into the pilot’s chair. “I hate to admit it, but you won the day, Silverton.”
Charley smiled, enjoying the sound of that name. It made her feel like she belonged. She wondered if Vin knew that she wasn’t actually Silverton’s daughter. Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt for him to believe it.
27
“What happens now?” Charley asked.
Vin kneaded the bridge of his nose.
“Now? Now we go and see the Guildmasters in Galveston. We register our kill and take ownership of the Armadillo.”
“And then?” Charley prompted, wondering what would happen to their ship. Their ship. After the adrenalin of the battle she couldn’t believe she actually half-owned a ship. A fighter, no less!
Vin shrugged. “Then we consider the fact that every Night Runner from here to Bonesse will be after us. They haven’t been challenged for years.”
Charley looked at Vin defiantly. “I have no problem with that.”
The hint of a smile played on his lips. Charley got the impression that he wasn’t as upset as he made out. Who wouldn’t be elated to score a genuine fighting ship? Hopefully it had stoked a fire within him that had been dead for too long.
“It needs a coat of paint,” he said teasingly, looking at the galley and living quarters.
Charley felt a flush of excitement. “Does that mean you don’t want to sell it?”
“I’ll let you choose the colors,” he said seriously. “Choose well - they’ll be colors we wear with pride.”
Before she knew what she was doing, Charley wrapped Vin in a bear hug. It couldn’t be helped. Not only was the Armadillo now a pirate vessel, Vin was returning to the fold! For Charley, the result couldn’t have been any better.
“Why the change of heart?” she asked when she finally extricated herself.
“I loved my father,” he said with more than a trace of sadness. “But the Guild needed a change. New blood. I grew tired of the old ways.”
He paused as he looked Charley up and down. “Now? To be honest, I believe in what I’m seeing.”
Charley felt as though her heart might burst. She finally understood the riddle of Vin Teks. He was a lost soul searching for direction, for guidance. The drudgery of career work wasn’t for him - he was a man who liked to be inspired. Whatever she’d done in the last two days, she’d found a way into his heart.
Life as a pirate was about to become very interesting indeed.
PART II
28
Charley’s mind wandered as she looked out at the stars.
Her thoughts were comfortable, but somewhat hazy. She couldn’t seem to focus on any particular thing. It was like she was sitting on a golden cloud. Which might’ve had something to do with the fact that there was a man’s head between her legs. A man who knew what he was doing. Her job was to look out for enemy ships. Considering what Vin doing to her, it was somewhat understandable that her focus waver. But then, all the good reasons in the world wouldn’t matter if they were blasted to kingdom come by an incoming bandit fighter.
Vin Teks was a skilled man. Charley grasped at his silky black hair as her body shook with release. She steadied herself against the dashboard as he finished his explorations. Gasping, she reached for him but he waved her away with a wry grin. She smiled.
“I owe you,” was all she could say.
The mood was light as Vin and Charley flew their prize back to Danderly. The brown planet steadily filled the cockpit window and confirmed their course for Galveston.
“The Guildmasters run a dock to the south of the city,” Vin said. “They can process us there.”
Charley was physically exhausted but profoundly happy. The damaged scout in tow behind them would presumably be sold for spare parts and scrap metal. She could only guess how much money that would net them. Truth be told, all she could think about was Vin’s return to the Pirate Guild. From what she could tell, he had a wide range of skills - salvage, firearms, smuggling. He was also brave and tough, if occasionally belligerent and moody. Charley was thrilled to have someone with whom she could share the elation of victory, the pain of defeat.
She climbed into her air suit, the only item of clothing she had on board. Vin had them coursing high over Danderly’s Iverssa Forest, making extremely good progress for Galveston. Charley took a moment to airlock the dead enemy pilot, mouthing a little prayer for him. He was only young and she hoped he made better decisions in the next life. Her dirty task completed, she spent a few minutes surveying the ship. Sporting a cramped galley and living quarters, the armadillo was a compact fighter. As far as she could tell, there were two storage bays - one was a 10x10 cargo bay under the crew deck. It was empty save for a heavy tarp in the corner. The other bay was located at the rear of the crew deck, just off the captain’s living quarters. The size of a closet, it was designed to transport more valuable items. At that moment it contained a small digital safe, but Charley couldn’t work out the code.
The airlock sat slightly above the crew deck and admitted to the top hatch. The only other living module was the cockpit. The rest of the ship was dominated by twin propulsion engines and weapons compartments. Vin had reeled off the names of various assault rifles like an excited schoolboy but it was all a foreign language to Charley. She could study weapon specs later when she had a spare moment.
Vin said over the com. Her com. Charley still had to pinch herself to confirm that all this was actually happening. She hustled into the cockpit and strapped down for their descent.
“We need a name for her,” she said to Vin. “What do you think?”
The scoundrel considered for a moment.
“What about the Surprise?”
Charley’s heart lurched - perfect.
“Bingo,” she beamed.
She could already picture the paintwork on the hull.
29
The Surprise approached a small docking operation nestled within the trees to the south of Galveston. It appeared to be a boutique operation only those ‘in the know’ used.
“Danderly troopers have been patrolling this region of late,” Vin observed. “So far they haven’t shown any interest in the Guildmasters’ presence.”
Charley nodded. The collapsed Empire was showing signs of rising from the dead. She remembered the increased trooper activity on her home planet. But it wasn’t the right time to talk politics. Vin guided the Surprise into one of the empty docking stations. A team of engineers descended on the damaged scout and transferred it to the port’s garage. Charley and Vin exited Surprise through the top hatch and made their way through a connector tube to a pristine Guild Office.
The Guildmasters were a mysterious organization. One might say that they well known but never well understood. The organization controlled the business of crime across the galaxy, conferring a semblance of structure where there might otherwise be chaos. All the various Guilds were given rankings based on kills, loot and power. The latter attribute was a complex calculation based on fleet size, personnel and land holdings. The Pirate Guild had been near the bottom of the rankings for quite some time. Vin’s defection, along with the demise of the older pirate network, resulted in the slow death of the once proud Guild. The pirates’ power base had been eroded by many enemies, but the main threat came from the Bandit Guild, or Silent Runners. An outsider might find little difference between the Bandit and Pirate Guilds, but Harry Teks had schooled Charley in some of the subtle differences. For her part, Charley believed in the pirate code and wanted to put a modern spin on it. As she approached the Guildmaster agent behind a smooth glass desk, she fervently hoped she’d begun to bring her Guild back from the dead.
“Nice kill,” said the attractive brunette, her fingers dancing over a lightscreen. “We were watching from a remote feed. The Silent Runners had you cold, and yet here you are.”
“They were fools,” Vin muttered.
The agent’s eyes flashed at Charley’s brawny partner. Was she flirting with him?
“Yeah, well, things are gonna get real interesting around here,” the agent said.
“What do you mean?” Charley asked.
“Not many stir the hornet’s nest and get away with it.”
“Why don’t we get down to business?” Charley suggested, annoyed at the agent’s carefree tone.
“Certainly,” the agent said, suitably chastened. “As you may have noticed, one of your prizes, the DAX84 Scout, is currently in our garage for assessment. We assume you’ll be looking to sell for parts and metal?”
“That’s correct,” said Vin with a quick glance at Charley.
“Excellent,” purred the agent. “The Guildmasters can handle the sale if you so choose. In that event, we would waive the docking fees you have incurred today.”
“That’s fine,” Vin said.
Charley knew it was their only practical option - if they wanted to handle the sale of parts and scrap they would need to rent a garage and there would be all kinds of overheads. It was common practice to allow the Guildmasters to handle sales, especially as their cut wasn’t exactly outrageous.
“How do the rankings play out?” Charley asked, trying to sound casual. Vin couldn’t suppress a grin.
“The rankings won’t be updated until the scout has been sold,” came the reply. “The Night Runners had the armadillo listed two years ago. Its value is estimated at 46,000 credits.”
Charley blinked. She couldn’t conceive of that much money!
But Vin glared at the agent. “No way. That thing’s a prime fighting machine. Retails between 70 and 80K.”
The agent shrugged. “It’s at least six years old,” she said. “And seen the odd scuffle or two.”
Vin shrugged. “We’d like to store it in long term dry dock. Got some cosmetic changes to make.”
Charley grinned. She couldn’t wait to design a logo.
“Consider it done,” said the agent brightly, tapping away at her lightscreen. “Feel free to return whenever you like. Dry dock 73 is now accessible via retina scan.”
Charley looked at her in surprise. The Guildmasters must’ve scanned them on arrival. A smooth operation indeed. Their business concluded, Charley and Vin stood to leave. At the door the agent called out.
“Oh, and folks,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. “It’s good to have pirates around again.”
Charley blinked - Betty must’ve updated her status. The Pirate Guild had made its first kill for a long time. She knew she’d be obsessively checking her wrist pad to see if her ranking had been update
d. From the Guildmaster Dock, Charley and Vin took a shuttle into the heart of Galveston. It was getting dark by the time they reached the bleak ghetto where their rundown Guild building was located. Thankfully, Charley could now gain access via the front entrance. FIGJAM greeted the pair in the main hall.
“Betty filled me in guys,” it said, trying to keep up. The little PalBot wasn’t designed for uneven terrain. “I bags sleeping with the bitch tonight, Teks.”
Vin spun on his heel and frowned at the PalBot.
“Easy, Vin,” Charley said soothingly, knowing the big man was a hair’s breadth away from smashing the robot to pieces. “FIGJAM had a bad upbringing.”
“’FIGJAM’?” repeated Vin with a snarl.
“Don’t ask,” Charley said. “Just know that I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for this little robot. It’ll grow on you, trust me.”
“Yeah,” said FIGJAM. “Plus, I’ve seen her naked, jackass.”
30
A tense second passed. Vin seemed ready to explode, but relaxed suddenly.
“Nice toy,” he said dismissively before walking off.
Charley gave FIGJAM a look that said ‘watch yourself’.
“Thanks Betty,” Charley said.
A thought occurred to her - something she was almost too afraid to ask.
“Betty - are there any bounties on our heads?”
A chill ran down Charley’s spine. She knew what that meant. Half the galaxy was hunting them and, if found, they would be handed over to the Silent Runners for torture.
The Pirate Guild Page 13
