by Drew Wagar
And dissipated harmlessly.
Rebecca stared in shock and then pulled the trigger again and again. Each bolt deflected, striking the floor or the hull of the ship above Zerz, who stood still, immobile, with something approaching a maniacal grin on his face. Jim jumped aside for cover as the lethal energy discharge flashed nearby.
“Stop it!” he shouted. “Rebecca!”
Rebecca stared in shock, adjusted her rifle and fired again, with the same lack of effect. Then she stopped, the rifle drooping in her hands.
“Have you quite finished?” Zerz inquired, politely.
“That’s not possible,” she said weakly, a bewildered expression crossing her face.
“I was just telling Jim of some of the remarkable technology that occasionally crops up whenever Raxxla is mentioned,” Zerz continued amiably, lowering his hands and stepping towards her. “An example for you, Jim. A personal shield.”
Rebecca was backing away, shaking her head.
Jim was shaking his head too. “No way. That isn’t possible! The power demands are astronomical… no way it can be done portably!”
“A cent’s worth of observation is worth a credit’s worth of theory,” Zerz continued, “wouldn’t you say?”
Rebecca stepped back as if dizzy and then threw her gun aside. She launched herself towards Zerz with an almost animal like howl, pulling a knife from a strap against her right thigh and sprinting across the cavern floor. She held the knife outstretched in front of her.
Zerz didn’t move. Rebecca came within a few inches of him and was then violently flung aside like a rag doll, landing ungracefully on the ground near Jim, stunned. Zerz was unaffected.
Jim went to her side, helping her to sit up. She was staring into nothing, dazed and confused.
“Rebecca?”
For a moment she looked at him, but then her eyes rolled back in her head. She fainted.
“Did I mention it repels physical force as effectively as directed energy?” Zerz said in an amused tone, holding his arms casually behind his back.
“Damn you!” Jim snapped back. “If you’re going to kill us, just get on with it!”
“Kill you?” Zerz seemed surprised. He laughed. “Why would I have gone to all this trouble just to kill you? It’s you two I need.”
Jim had managed to get Rebecca lying down in a recovery position. She was still unconscious. She seemed to have suffered something akin to a strong electric shock. He stood up and faced Zerz.
“She needs medical attention!”
“In good time. Firstly I must have your agreement.”
“Why? Why me?”
“Your gravimetric expertise, of course. Your insight into the workings of technology and advanced mechanisms. I’m shamed to admit that some aspects of this are beyond my abilities.”
“And what do you need her for?”
Zerz grinned. “To secure your co-operation, of course.”
“She means nothing to me,” Jim knew his bluff was a waste of time.
“Come now, Jim,” Zerz seemed mildly amused. “I’m gratified to see that my research was correct and that you do have a penchant for her. I must admit to being surprised at you though, with all the cultured women available, you choose a back-world trader… ”
How does he know? What does he know?
Zerz bent down and picked up Rebecca’s rifle, appraising it with a professional eye, turning it end over end.
“A disrupter. Hardly the weapon of a gentlemen,” he said with disdainful appraisal. “But it will serve. This is rather illegal, don’t you know?”
“Zerz… wait..”
Zerz raised it and pointed it directly at Rebecca’s limp form.
“Have you ever seen anyone executed with a disrupter, Jim?” Zerz continued in the same relaxed tone of voice. “It’s rather interesting. Rather than simply drilling a hole through vital organs as with your common laser, a disrupter uses a plasma bolt to disassociate the bonds within organic cells. Literally rips them apart at the cellular level. Paralysis is instantaneous, but death takes many minutes. The subject is fully conscious throughout. I’m told it’s not for the faint hearted.”
He pressed the arming stud. The rifle’s power pack hummed back up to operating readiness.
Zerz’ dark eyes turned as hard as duralium. He levelled the gun at Rebecca’s prone form.
“ So, unless you wish to have a first hand demonstration of the disrupter effect on your petite femme fâché, I suggest that you do exactly as I say.”
Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Rebecca came to with a start, sitting upright with a short scream. Her mind was whirling. She turned, trying to focus her eyes. She struggled to remember what had been happening.
The ship! Jim! The assassin! He was invulnerable! Now I’m caught, what am I going to do? He’s never going to let us go…
“Lie still. Slowly!” Hands pushed her back down. The voice was familiar, she blinked and a face swam into view. “You’re on a bio-bed.”
Jim had been relieved to see only the symptoms of exhaustion and stress showing up on the monitors, the shock of physically impacting against Zerz’ strange shield didn’t seem to have done Rebecca any permanent damage. It was nothing the medivac couldn’t fix anyway.
“Jim? What happened?”
“It’s me. Take it easy, you had a nasty shock. You were knocked out when you hit Zerz’ shield.”
Jim… !
For a moment she looked delighted to see him, but then her expression hardened.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded, sitting up despite his protestations.
You shouldn’t be here! You should be safe, back on Onrira! Out of harm’s way! You’re not cut out for…
“I could ask you the same question; are you working for the Dark Wheel?”
“Yes and no. Are you working for Galcop? For him?” she sounded angry and suspicious.
“Yes and no,” Jim admitted, trying a faint smile.
“You’d better choose which side you’re on then, Harmless,” Rebecca snarled. “You know what that assassin – whatever his name is – Zerz! – did to me and mine! I mean to bury him.”
“Rebecca, listen…” His delight in seeing her again had quickly evaporated under her antagonistic glare.
“No, you listen! You can either help me out nailing this guy, or stay out of my way! Galcop has screwed me over enough times! That guy killed all those people, he killed my family!”
“Rebecca, calm down! You’re obsessed! Put it aside for a moment and think rationally for God’s sake… ”
How dare you! You really have no idea what it’s like, do you… !
“Don’t tell me how to run my life! Just don’t go there, Harmless! I will do what I need to do! I’ve tracked this heartless bastard across all of space! You’re not the one who lost everything!”
Jim blazed back at her. “I lost people too! Or did you forget?”
“So why are you working for Galcop now then, eh? He works for them too! Hardly a fitting way to honour their memories is it? Selling out? I can’t believe you’d betray your friends’ memories! Working for those murderers; I thought you were better than that!”
“It’s not as simple as that. He doesn't work for Galcop any more… ”
“Looks pretty simple from my point of view. Turncoat!”
“And you’re working for the Dark Wheel out of the goodness of your heart are you?”
That’s not fair!
“That’s got nothing to do with it! The Dark Wheel guy told me that safeguarding this Raxxla prak was important future-of-the-universe-at-stake stuff. Yes, he backed it up with big money, so who was I to argue? They want that assassin taken out … and so do I!”
“How much did the Dark Wheel pay you, eh?” Jim snapped back. “I know you, remember? Trader girl! No allegiance without profit, isn’t that your motto?”
Some of us don’t have mum and dad’s fat credit account to live off!
>
“I’m not apologising for what I do. I’m a trader, it’s my life! Profit isn’t a dirty word!” she hissed at him. “That’s not the point anyway!”
“So what is the point?” he yelled back.
They glared at each other.
“Look,” Jim said, breathing deeply and trying to calm himself down. “The situation isn’t clear. I had no idea Zerz was, or might even be, the assassin. I was under the impression the Dark Wheel had committed those murders! I don’t understand this any more than you do.”
That much is obvious!
Rebecca looked at him and then said, “Well, the Dark Wheel say it’s not their fault either! I don’t know who to believe.”
“That makes two of us,” he snapped back.
“So what is it then?” she said, looking away.
“What’s what?”
“This Raxxla thing. The Dark Wheel seemed to think it was real enough.”
“Galcop too. They’re running scared. I don’t know whether it’s real or not. Whatever Raxxla is, Zerz is the one who knows about it. Galcop had a file on Raxxla – Zerz has it. That’s why I’m here.”
“Me too. So, here’s the plan then, Harmless. Let’s kill him, nab the file and get the hell out of here!”
“Subtle as always. You saw that shield. We can’t get at him! He could have shot us down en route or killed us at any time since. He knew we were coming. He needs us for something.”
“Yeah, so he can kill us slowly rather than fast! He’s a psycho! As far as he’s concerned we’re unfinished business! He tried to kill us once, he’s going to do it again! We should be trying to escape!”
“Escape?”
“Yes, escape! You know; flee, run, get out! Leave!”
“Assuming we can get past a sealed door, down a closed docking ramp, and assuming we aren’t shot down, and assuming we get back to our ships and take off…”
“Yes?”
“Do you have a way of breaking the seven light year witch jump range?”
Oh no, don’t tell me…
“You mean, you don’t?” Rebecca seemed aghast.
“No! At least, not immediately.”
“Then why in God’s name did you come here if you couldn’t get back?” she raged at him, virtually apoplectic.
“I figured I’d have time to sort that out after I dealt with the assassin! Anyway, Zerz says he has a way… ”
You fool! And I’m a fool for following! That was your plan? You’ve no idea what you’ve got us into do you!
“You stupid idiot!” She sat down with a thump, looking dejected. “So we’re stuck here! We’re marooned! He’s going to leave us for dead – maybe that was his plan all along!”
Jim shook his head. “He needs us. Rebecca, listen… ”
Rebecca sighed. “So what do you suggest we do, O Wise One?”
“I suggest we watch and observe. Look for a weakness. We need to get that file away from him and find a way out of here. We have some time. Zerz wants me to help him and is using you as leverage.”
Leverage eh? And why is that then, Jim?
“Me? Why me?” Rebecca asked. Her voice sounded false and uncertain.
Go on, tell me why!
“Because,” Jim hesitated, “because of our previous association I guess… .”
Coward!
“… He’s threatened to kill you unless I co-operate.”
Rebecca scowled and considering carefully. “Co-operate with what? Decoding the Raxxla file?”
“I guess so.”
Rebecca looked around the room for a few moments, thinking hard.
It’s the only way I can see out of this mess he’s got us into…
“ Right then, here’s the plan,” Rebecca said, biting her bottom lip. “You play along until you get hold of the file. Take some time to work it all out. I’ll need some time to sabotage his ship.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“Leave it with me,” she said, with an air of certainty.
“Rebecca… ”
I’m trying to save your life you idiot! Shut up!
“Leave it with me!” she snapped. “Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”
Jim sat down opposite her, taking a deep breath. Rebecca looked at him, and looked away again.
Just don’t ask me, Harmless… just don’t ask! You don’t want to hear this and I don’t want to say it…
“So,” he said heavily. “Where have you been for the last two years?”
Damn you!
“I was busy, that’s all,” Rebecca replied immediately, she refused to meet his gaze.
Jim regarded her for a moment, surprising himself by how disappointed he felt. “Busy. Right.”
You asked for it!
The door to the medical room snapped open. Zerz was standing on the threshold. Rebecca immediately grabbed one of the medical scanners and threw it at him. It bounced off his shield and clattered to the floor.
Zerz ignored it.
“Once you have recovered we will discuss this affair in a civilised fashion. You’ll find a washroom, clothes and toiletries next door. Dinner will be served in two hours.”
“Get lost!” Rebecca yelled, jumping to her feet unsteadily. “You son of bitch… ”
“ I see your femme fâché is already invigorated,” Zerz commented drily to Jim, before closing the door once more.
I hate all this upper class snobbery! So you know some words in an obscure language, big deal!
Rebecca whirled on Jim. “Femme fâché? What the hell does that mean, lab boy?”
Jim sighed. “It means ‘angry woman’ or thereabouts, in one of the old world modes of speech.”
He has no idea!
Fully half of the central cargo bay of the Imperial Courier had been converted into state rooms. It was decked out in something of an old fashioned manner, with sumptuous furnishings that would not have looked out of place in some of the best old world hotels. Zerz obviously took great pride in his décor. Everything from the carpets, the drapes cunningly hiding the internal hull struts down to the brass fittings on various pieces of equipment was tastefully executed. Even the interiors of Fer-De-Lance ships would have looked cheap in comparison.
The centre piece of the room was a large rectangular table which, astonishing though it seemed, was made of real oak. Upon this was set a silver service, studded with napkins, bone china plates, crystal glasses and a variety of the most expensive dishes known in the core systems. Even Jim, with his relatively opulent upbringing, didn’t recognise some of them. Rebecca was completely out of her depth.
The room was lit by a large chandelier, suspended from the overhead bulkhead, giving a warm soft yellow glow to the room. Faint strains of ancient orchestral music provided a background to the ensemble.
Rebecca had not been impressed by the choice of garments available to her; they were all evening gowns of elegant design, not something she was familiar with. Jim had been startled to discover the high quality brands represented in the extensive closet. There were garments from the top outfitters on Sotiqu and Riedquat, some of the best names in Chart One. Whatever his other faults, Zerz clearly had taste.
Quite why Zerz had a compartment full of expensive attire for both men and women was uncertain. Jim could only presume that, as an assassin, he needed to be able to accommodate a variety of scenarios. It appeared that he moved in some very stratospheric social circles as well as murdering people in cold blood. Rebecca had sworn and cursed, refusing to wear anything Zerz had supplied. She wanted to stay in her trader coveralls but they were ripped, torn and mud-stained. Common sense eventually prevailed.
She chose a elegant dark green evening dress and matching high heeled shoes. The dress still was a shade too big for her frame. She had obviously not worn anything like it for a long time, if at all. She staggered the first time she tried to walk forward, finding her movement far more restricted than normal and the shoes causing her to struggle with balance. Despite thi
s, the dress suited and flattered her.
Jim had never seen her like this before. Her standard issue traders’ overalls were eminently practical, but completely anonymised the wearer. Her habit of keeping her hair relatively short and un-styled, again for practical reasons, enabled her to blend into a crowd unnoticed and forgettable. Now, Jim found himself reappraising her appearance.
Her skin was pale, as would be expected for someone who spent their life inside a ship. Her arms and legs were shapely, with firm muscle tone, though marred by the occasional bruise and scratch. She was probably underweight, in his opinion, but she retained enough of a feminine curve to allow the dress to fit appropriately. He noted that she wore no jewellery or make up of any kind, nor did she sport any of the tattoos many traders adorned themselves with. Her fingers were long and thin, but her fingernails were unpainted and trimmed short. That said, she could easy pass as an elegant sophisticate at the celebrity parties common in the corporate systems. She’d turn an awful lot of heads.
Having caught her balance she looked up at him. He found himself staring into her eyes, admiringly.
Why am I doing this to myself? She plainly isn’t bothered about me. I thought we had something…
She caught him looking at her and glared back at him.
“You look… ” Jim began, trying to encourage her, despite the situation. He had chosen a more practical smart jacket, dress trousers and formal shirt.
Rebecca glared at him, snapping out each word slowly and pointing a finger at him. “Don’t start, Harmless.”
… obviously not.
As they entered the central bay Zerz was already seated. Rebecca noticed that her rifle was propped up against the far wall behind him. She scowled, wishing she was armed and she knew a way around that personal shield.
Zerz stood. He was dressed in a dark-hued formal uniform, complete with dress cloak and silver fastenings. He looked quite the statesman.
“Greetings. Would you care to join me?”
“Do we have a choice?” Rebecca snarled.
“Not at all. However, I thought it was only polite to give you the opportunity to show some manners. Shall we?”
Rebecca and Jim slowly sat down, Rebecca having to sit sideways rather awkwardly, and then swinging her legs around.
