The Pirate Guild

by Steven J Shelley

  Gronko swore at the engine for several minutes before coaxing it back to life. The jellyfish had claimed its victim and no longer needed to keep them in thrall. Gronko steered the attack boat toward the far shore, aiming for a jetty backed by a wall of jungle. Charley was numb as the pirates disembarked at the rickety structure. Harry immediately called everyone into the trees. Charley let herself be dragged into the shade, only vaguely aware of the drone of a firebird passing high overhead.

  “Don’t think they saw us,” said Harry. “Probably think we’re dead.”

  “We’re really in the shit,” Gronko growled. “Our second best fighter is gone and we’re miles away from our busted ship.”

  “Such a beacon of positivity,” Charley said bleakly.

  The renki grunted. “At least there’s women to enjoy while I wait to die.”

  Harry threw Gronko a dark look. “Touch either of these women and you’ll die a lot sooner than that.”

  Gronko snorted in derision but said no more. It wasn’t wise to upset a veteran pirate.

  “Those firebirds chew up a lot of fuel,” Harry said thoughtfully. “They’re planet-bound too. No warp engines.”

  Harry’s train of thought brought Charley back into the moment. Where she needed to be. She could mourn Vin Teks later.

  “There must be an airfield nearby,” she said. “We could steal a firebird and fly spare parts over to the crash site.”

  Harry smiled at her despite the sadness in his eyes. “Precisely, my girl.”

  “Better than standing around,” Gronko concluded.

  Charley looked at Vanessa. The poor girl looked exhausted, but had a determined look about her.

  “Five minutes to collect ourselves, then we move out,” Charley said. “Hopefully we can reach the airfield by nightfall.”

  The mid-afternoon sun beat down mercilessly as the party moved into the shadowy trees. The jungle was low and hard. Gronko took point and swung a jungle machete with all his considerable might. Charley’s body was soon slick with sweat and assaulted by insects. She was thoroughly exhausted by the time the sun sank the horizon. The surrounding wildlife quietened, preceding a period of eerie dusk silence. Harry pointed to his wrist com and Charley checked her scanner. It was picking up a heat signature around 300 yards to the north west. She nodded and had Gronko make a slight adjustment to his bearing. At length the trees opened out and they spotted huge, towering floodlights. Thankfully they were directed inward to the airfield beyond.

  “That facility is poorly defended,” Harry said with disdain. “My guess is the Silent Runners aren’t attacked here very often.”

  “All the better for us,” Charley said. “I want to hit them hard.”

  She was surprised by the vehemence in her voice. The loss of Vin was affecting her judgment. It was easy to blame the Silent Runners for his death - if it wasn’t for their cowardly attack, the pirates wouldn’t have crash landed on Bonesse in the first place.

  Gronko was waiting for the others by a high mesh fence. Harry threw a stick at it and pursed his lips when it fell in a shower of sparks.

  “No touching that, then,” Charley said. “How do we get in?”

  “Show me the fuckin’ terminal and I’ll fuck it like a whore,” FIGJAM announced. “Bye bye electricity.”

  “I don’t doubt you for a second, FIGJAM,” said Harry reasonably. “But the control terminal must be inside the airfield somewhere.”

  “Fair point,” FIGJAM admitted.

  Charley studied the airfield intently. Rectangles of intense orange light beckoned from the other side of the wide expanse - the open cargo bays of two firebirds. A small terminal building and a coms tower sat beyond the craft. A guard hut was located further along the southern fence, at the only access point to the facility. Charley’s targeting computer suggested there were five guards stationed there. Following the depot attack earlier that day, they were probably on high alert.

  “Suicide to run a front-on assault on that guard house,” Harry said.

  “I will not tolerate being stuck here!” Gronko yelled, grabbing the fence and giving himself a solid electric jolt in the process. His electrical resistance was admirable, but the act itself was pretty fucking stupid and Charley felt like telling him about it.

  “Just shove me through one of those rat holes,” FIGJAM said mildly.

  Charley looked at her PalBot with a frown. “The hell you say?”

  “While you fuckers have been flapping your mouths, I’ve located a series of burrows that run right under the fence.”

  “Big enough for a man?” Harry asked hopefully.

  “Nope,” was the reply.

  “Digging would take all night,” grumbled Gronko. “We don’t have the tools.”

  “Fuck that,” Charley said. “The Runners would find us well before then. What are you suggesting exactly, FIGJAM?”

  “Just put me in the fucking hole,” FIGJAM said irritably. “I’ll take it from there.”

  “Wait,” Charley said. “You want to crawl your way into that airfield and blast the entire bandit squadron with a bunch of swear words?”

  “You’re sexy when you’re angry,” FIGJAM purred. “But no, I was hoping to sneak over to the control panel and deactivate the fence.”

  Charley looked at Harry, who nodded slowly.

  “It could work,” the old man admitted. “We should give it a try, but be prepared to lose your little bot.”

  “This ‘little bot’ is gonna kick your ass, old man,” FIGJAM said indignantly.

  Charley set the bot down on the grass. It trundled over the tussocks toward the nearest rat hole.

  “Don’t wait up for me,” he said moodily.

  And with that, it was gone. The light was too bad to see if it had re-appeared on the other side.

  “Well, then,” Charley said. “I guess we wait.”

  “Spot on, Charley,” Harry said cheerfully, gathering her in his arms and giving her a bear hug. She responded, but could see Vanessa averting her gaze in discomfort. Hurting from the loss of his son, Harry was just trying to put on a brave face. She stood in his arms for several minutes, glad to be distracted from their desperate situation. Besides, the jungle air was unusually sharp and cold that night and Charley welcomed the close contact. When around fifteen minuets had elapsed since FIGJAM’s departure, the fence flared blue.

  “Gronko,” Charley said, “Can you touch the fence again?”

  The big renki punched the fence as hard as he could. Apart from laying a mighty dent in it, there was no sign of energy conduction.

  “The PalBot actually did it,” Harry said in wonder.

  “He’s quite useful when you get past the fact he’s an asshole,” Charley pointed out.

  “Definitely more than meets the eye,” Vanessa said appreciatively.

  Gronko was already halfway up the fence. Charley, Harry and Vanessa followed with little difficulty.

  “I’m on point,” Gronko announced when they had regrouped on the other side. “I’m the only one with a night scope.”

  That was true enough. Charley allowed the big renki to lead them through the tussocks toward the distant firebirds.

  “Shouldn’t we take care of the guard house first?” she asked.

  “That would be dangerous,” Harry said. “The firebirds might get spooked and launch.”

  Charley could see the logic to that. Gronko darted in between the bright prisms created by the light towers. She followed the same course as best she could, but it was only a matter of time before they were spotted. Sure enough, Gronko suddenly dropped to one knee and peeled of three shots from the long range rifle sitting on top of his heavy flak gun. The rifle couldn’t hit long range targets like a true sniper rifle could, but at a range of up to four hundred yards it was lethal. Charley saw two bandits fall. More were running across the airstrip toward the firebirds. She was keen to start firing, but her blaster had a limited range. Harry and Vanessa were confronted with the same problem. T
hey could only hope the renki led them to a sensible, defendable position. Right now, the objective was speed and coverage. Gronko sprinted across hard tarmac, firing from his hip as he went. A third bandit fell. Several more poured from the terminal building. The pirates were now an equal distance from the firebirds.

  Charley quickened her pace, trusting in her speed. She kept up with Gronko and used the nearest firebird as cover. The pilot of that craft had engaged the engines but didn’t have time to turn the vessel in her direction. Instead, the bandit dropped from the cockpit with her pistol raised. The woman got one scrambled shot in before Charley was on her. The pirate had her scimitar raised and swung wildly, cracking the bandit’s breastplate with a well-timed slash. The second blow removed the woman’s head from her shoulders. For some reason, Charley noticed the sound of the head as it bounced on the tarmac. She climbed the steps to the cockpit and assessed the dashboard. The engines were running but the anchor brake was still engaged. Charley released the brake and the firebird began rolling across the tarmac. She gripped the twin steerage joysticks and activated a weapons display by scrolling a dial on top of the right joystick. There were two firing options - ballistic or laser. She hit ballistic and began firing at will. Twin pellet streams coursed from guns mounted under the cockpit. Charley aimed for the terminal building and strafed it mercilessly. A clutch of bandits poured out the front doors and she picked them off easily. The force of the heavy duty pellets was enough to throw them off their feet and riddle their armor with bloody holes.

  Gronko, Harry and Vanessa were taking the opportunity to find cover in the shattered terminal building. Harry gave Charley a thumbs-up with a broad smile. The bandits at the front gate were still at large. They’d mustered an attack in a quad buggy. Charley almost laughed as she concentrated her fire on the small vehicle, rupturing the fuel tank in quick time. It exploded nicely, flipping its occupants like rag dolls. Charley made sure they were dead before continuing her run. There weren’t many enemy survivors on the airfield. Charley dared to hope the battle might be over when her cockpit was scythed with laser fire. The other firebird was also on the move. She activated her forward shields, steered the craft in a tight circle and accelerated down the runway. The enemy firebird, also gaining speed, was approaching on a collision course. The dueling vessels were set for an almighty collision. Charley wasn’t about to back down. She engaged her ballistic guns a second time and gave the enemy all she had. The pellets thrummed into the enemy cockpit but most were turned away by defensive shields. There would be no victor in this jousting battle. She strapped herself in for impact. The other firebird had lifted its landing gear and was rising off the ground. Charley’s cockpit was scorched by the exhaust by the craft. She wheeled her bird around and could only watch as the enemy launched into the night sky. She didn’t have the flying experience to match it in a dogfight, so wisely stayed put.

  A bright purple lance soared from the terminal building and stalked the rising firebird. Charley’s eyes widened as the heat-seeking missile spiraled into the target’s cargo bay and smashed into its rear shields. She lifted her own gun mounts but she didn’t have the angle to hit the retreating firebird. In the end she didn’t need to. The enemy vessel dipped savagely, its engine ringed by fire. It lost altitude over the jungle, disappearing below the forest canopy. A dull orange glare and a sonic boom confirmed its demise. Charley watched until the explosion faded to black, her breath returning in shallow gasps. She heard footsteps behind her and spun around. It was Gronko, already poking through the equipment in the cargo bay.

  “Some parts will be useful,” he muttered. “There are more underground.”

  Charley killed the engine and made her way to the shattered terminal. All she saw was a chaos of smashed circuitry and some corpses. What was Gronko talking about? Then she heard a whirring noise. A service elevator rose through the central runway. Harry stood in the middle with a cheeky smile - he’d found the main garage that serviced the firebirds. She caught a ride down to the workshop. Harry pointed to the far end of the underground space. A fully stripped engine lay on a steel bench. Repair packs containing hull plating, rivets and soldering kits were stacked by the walls. Everything they would need for repairs to the Surprise.

  “It’s all here,” Harry said triumphantly.

  Charley sank to her knees, the trauma of losing Vin overwhelming her. Harry knelt beside her, a comforting arm around her shoulders. When she was ready, Charley helped the others load the service elevator with gear. Gronko positioned the firebird directly over the elevator shaft. The ship had a panel on the underside that opened for the elevator. The pirates were able to transfer the parts directly into the cargo bay. Within an hour they were ready to launch with what they hoped was a complete set of parts for the damaged ship. Harry plugged in the original crash landing coordinates and Charley noticed the waypoint disappearing off the nav computer. She didn’t think anything of it, assuming the waypoint had been registered by the firebird’s AI. An automatic sequence prepared the firebird for launch. Charley and the others settled into the cockpit. Harry had the pilot’s chair but had nothing to do as the firebird thundered down the tarmac and rose into the air.

  “Must be taking us to the Surprise,” he said with a shrug.

  It soon became apparent that the firebird would not be doing that. It was rising in a steady spiral.

  “Where are we being taken?” Charley asked in a panicked voice.

  “It’s a pre-programmed routine,” Harry said. “The firebirds must’ve been due to return to another base …”

  46

  Charley grinned, but it was forced. They were in serious trouble. The firebird rose through the thick Bonesse atmosphere and broke orbit. Within minutes the planet was a velvety green orb beneath them. Creeping dread wormed its way down Charley’s spine. How were they going to survive this next challenge? Wherever the firebird was taking them, they were sure to be expected. The Runners at the airfield would’ve alerted their masters to the pirates’ attack. Sure enough, the firebird cruised toward a blinking orbital facility deep on the planet’s night side. It was moderately sized as space stations went, with docking nodes for several ships and a stack of habitation wings. With a lurch of anxiety, Charley saw the bandit cruiser that had shot the Surprise out of the sky in the first place. Harry saw it too, his hand closing over hers for comfort. The pirates could only watch on helplessly as the firebird completed its run.

  “I think that place was once a research facility,” Harry said. “The Silent Runners probably use it as a staging post for the entire sector.”

  For what must have been the seventh or eighth time, the old pirate tried to override the ship’s automatic sequence. It was no good - either the firebird was hard-coded to travel back and forth to the space station, or someone was controlling their flight remotely. Either way they were exposed and vulnerable.

  came a voice over the com.

  For a moment Charley wondered if they knew who was on board, but there could be no doubt about it - the bandits would be waiting for them. The firebird adjusted its course and aligned itself with docking node six. The airlock door reported that air pressure had been equalized on both sides. The heavy hatch hissed open to reveal a narrow docking tube. Charley took Harry’s hand and entered warily, Gronko following behind. Vanessa hesitated at the threshold.

  Gronko had his heavy weapon drawn but something told Charley that drawing her blaster was pointless. Her suspicions proved to be correct. The party wandered into a large, high-ceilinged chamber full of men in Silent Runner power armor. They had been arranged in a semi-circle and all had their plasma blasters trained on the pirates. Charley’s heart sank - she counted eighteen individuals. And that was probably only half the bandit garrison stationed here. A man with sandy hair and an arrogant bearing stepped forward. His armor hissed and purred as he moved. Power armor was heavier and more cumbersome than lighter varieties, but could withstand most light t
o medium firearms. Occasionally it could even withstand grenades and explosives.

  “Name’s Holger,” said the bandit leader. “I’m pleased you delivered yourselves to me on a silver platter.”

  Holger chuckled, an ominously light sound.

  “You would’ve heard the Imperial transmission from Emperor Galactus,” Harry said urgently. “We need to work together, Holger. Pirates and bandits alike.”

  It was obvious Harry didn’t mean a word he said. He was greeted with a wall of derisive smirks.

  “Save your breath, old man,” Holger said. “The Silent Runners may have new enemies, but pirates will remain in our crosshairs. Just for the record - we’re gonna fuck you up before we kill you. We’ve lost too many comrades to let you off easily.”

  The anger in his voice was unmistakable. Charley could almost understand. Her crew had wrought havoc on bandit smuggling operations, leaving a trail of corpses and destruction in their wake. She had no love for the Silent Runners, but she could understand the motive for revenge. They were only human. She broke out into a sweat as she contemplated the kind of torture she would be subjected to. Physical abuse was a given. Rape was definitely on the cards. If anything, it was the mental torture that worried her the most. She tried to shake her head clear of such thoughts as Holger approached her.

  “I’m going to enjoy this,” he said, lips close to her ear. “I know about you, sweetheart. You’ve styled yourself as some kind of pirate queen. It’ll be difficult to achieve without arms or legs.”