New Sky: Eyes of the Watcher

by Jason Kent

  "First things first," Merrick grunted as he turned from his careful study of the Tallinn activity. He seemed satisfied no one else was interested in them at the moment.

  Not as sure as Merrick was in this assessment, Kate continued to scan the street then the structures beyond. The mining complex offered a thousand places to hide. A thousand vantage points for someone to watch them and remain undetected.

  Merrick turned his attention to the mech. He pressed his back against the railing and used his legs to shove the machine into the hopper.

  Kate leaned over the rusted lip long enough to observe the mech being swallowed by the unprocessed ore which continued to pour into the hopper. Merrick took her hand and together they ran in a crouch around the corner of the hopper, under the conveyor belt which carried them after their leap from the truck and finally to the far side of the large steel box. Kate thought she heard the sound of crunching metal as the mech was crushed by the inexorably moving auger at the bottom of the hopper. The normal sounds of grinding rock returned soon enough. Kate looked back. They were out of sight of the street with the destroyed mining machines and the prying eyes of the Tallinns.

  Kate bumped into Merrick as he skidded to a halt. She craned her neck to see around the sniper. There on the narrow catwalk in front of them, Garrett was leaning against the railing.

  Merrick held his combat knife at the ready but stopped from lunging at the marine pilot. He let his knife drop a few centimeters. If Garrett were not friendly, Kate harbored no doubts Merrick would have killed him instantly. She cringed. Would Merrick have attacked someone right there in front of her? Killing a mech close up and personal was one thing. Killing a human being was another, Kate thought. Or was it?

  Unaware of how near he just came to a close encounter with Merrick's blade, Garrett pushed off the railing. His crossbow leaned easily against his shoulder. Kate suddenly knew where the bolt which took out the mech's sight came from.

  "Need a lift?" Garrett asked with a toothy smile, obviously quite pleased with his intervention in Kate and Merrick's plight.

  Merrick looked from Garrett to the mine structures all around.

  "The others made it off the station?" Merrick asked.

  "Yup," Garrett replied. He swung his crossbow around and pointed with it out toward the edge of the mining complex. "The Colonel and Ross are holding a few key intersections. The path back to the ship is clear."

  "Sparrow and Dagger are okay?" Kate asked. She noted Merrick holding his knife again; ready to strike as Garrett clumsily flung his bow around. Either he felt protective of her or distrustful of everyone else. Kate was not sure which as she felt her cheeks redden. She thought she knew the answer.

  "Sparrow's trying to root out some info from the local net," Garrett replied. "And Dagger, well, let's just hope the ship's still there when we get back. Speaking of which, we'd better hustle. You gave the Tallinns a nice explosion for them to admire, at least for now. You're little diversion should make getting out of here a breeze. "

  "Sure," Kate laughed, "as easy as getting off the station."

  Chapter 10

  Sidetracked

  It turned out Garrett was right. After they clambered down the rickety service ladder, the trio dashed for the cover offered by a line of low sheds. Merrick let the pilot lead the way. Merrick exchanged his knife for his pistol. He kept the weapon up, ready for action.

  Garrett slowed down and raised a closed hand into the air. Merrick followed the silent instruction immediately. Kate spent enough time with the marines as an EMTEC rep to know the fist in the air meant 'halt' or sometimes 'tral's about to hit the fan'. Luckily, it was the first interpretation this time.

  Ross stepped out of a shadowed recess created by two hulking pieces of machinery. He held his Stellar Union Marine Corp-issued rifle with him with a spare slung across his back. The new spare must have come from Dagger's armory. It was a slightly different model than Ross' preferred weapon. Whatever happened to them and wherever they went, Kate figured the marine was going to keep using the weapons he was most comfortable with. Even if the origin of the weapons would be hard to explain to any Tallinn who might take a particular interest in them. There were only a few ways to obtain such firepower, mostly from less-than-reputable dealers. Then again, the way things were going, everyone who got close to Kate's quest members seemed to end up dead or not interested in asking any questions before firing at them. They tended to be the 'shoot first, ask later' types.

  Merrick nodded at his squad member. Ross took up the trailing position, his trusted assault rifle at his hip.

  A few empty streets later, Georges joined them. He looked from Kate to Merrick.

  "Let's get off this rock," Georges said. He took the lead and they entered a maze of multi-colored holding tanks connected by rusted, dripping pipes. Their winding path took them to the very edge of the mining complex.

  Kate began to see the piles of mine tailings between the tanks.

  "Right back to where we started," she gasped. The exertion since the crash was taking its toll on her. She needed to rest.

  Later.

  Kate stumbled and nearly fell when the voice of Javin decided to make the announcement inside her head. Merrick grabbed her arm to steady her.

  Rest will come with Knowl's deliverance.

  Kate shook her head. Javin never picked a good time to start talking. Then again, when was a good time for a dead Tallinn Watcher to impart advice from beyond the grave? Merrick helped her around the final corner.

  The Blade was there.

  Dagger, like Garrett back on the ironclad, did not abandon them.

  Kate wondered how much Sparrow's oversight played into keeping the rogue pilot grounded while the others searched for her and Merrick in the vast mine complex. The lithe link sprite certainly demonstrated skills beyond her ability to hack into any data system.

  Dagger had nosed her ship into a narrow alley between a rambling shed and the field of holding tanks Kate dashed through with the others. Kate noted the color of the Blade and its many haphazard additions provided near perfect camouflage for it to blend in with the rusted infrastructure and piles of rock all around them. From what she saw of the mining complex, the fact they could blend in with it so easily did not help Kate feel any better about how the starship would perform once in space. Kate pushed the thought to the back of her head. The Blade obviously got the others down to the surface. She would find out first-hand about the performance of the ship very shortly. If nothing else, it would be an improvement over the escape pod.

  Dagger and Sparrow stood at the top of the cargo ramp at the rear of the ship. Sparrow's white hair blew in the desert wind and her link circuits glinted in the light of the local sun. Dagger planted her feet far apart, hands on her hips. She kept her red hair cropped too short to blow in any breeze. Kate figured the pilot did not go in for such feminine displays anyway.

  Kate staggered up the cargo ramp with Merrick's help. She hated how dependent she felt right then. Kate Thompson took care of her herself, she thought. At least she used to be able to before meeting a certain Watcher. She took a deep breath of the dry air gusting through the open cargo hold and realized she never before faced any conditions remotely like these. She looked around. Georges conferred with Sparrow off to the side of the bay. Ross stood guard, his gaze toward the dusty landscape spread out behind the Blade and the rusted wasteland of the mining complex.

  Kate sat heavily on a packing crate. She looked up to find Dagger glaring at her. Dagger took her hand off her hips and crossed them in front of her. Suddenly, the awkwardness of the situation dawned on Kate.

  "Why aren't we taking off?" Kate asked. She directed her question at Dagger. It was apparent the pilot moved only when she wanted. If this ship was still on the ground even with everyone on board and in the face of an enemy who knew they were somewhere in the complex, Dagger was doing it for some reason; a reason very important to her.

  Georges looked from Sparrow to D
agger and grimaced. The Marine Lieutenant Colonel looked like he was about to pull his combat knife on the pilot. Kate was impressed to see the man take a deep breath and collect his thoughts before he approached Dagger. His tone was surprisingly calm, given their precarious situation.

  "Sparrow tells me you have a request," Georges stated. He planted his feet on the deck in front of Dagger, copying her stance.

  Whatever the outcome, one of these two was going to back down. At this point, Kate could not guess who it would be. It was like watching two asteroids on a collision course. Which would have the stronger internal matrix to allow it to survive the impact? And which would crumble?

  "Demand, actually," Dagger corrected. She looked from Georges to Sparrow then took in Ross, Garrett and Merrick with a swift glance; each of the people surrounding her proved they were extremely dangerous when provoked. Despite this, the pilot stood her ground. The Blade belonged to Dagger. Right now, only she could provide the transport the others so desperately required. It seemed Dagger wanted something in return.

  Kate noticed Dagger did not look at her. She kept an eye on the rest of her companions while discounting Kate completely. Offended, Kate realized nothing gave the pilot any reason to worry about her. Kate failed to demonstrate the skills of a warrior; for Dagger there were other, more pressing threats to worry about.

  "Before we head off into the depths of Tallinn space," Dagger explained, "I need a guarantee of payment." She addressed Georges directly and ignored everyone else for the moment.

  "We have someplace we need to be," Georges stated. "The future of mankind depends on our mission."

  "High morals don't pay my landing fees," Dagger snorted.

  "The Stellar Union will reimburse—" Georges started, his teeth clenched together.

  Dagger interrupted with a single bark of laughter. "The S.U. does not exist out here!"

  "We must get to the core of the Tallinn intelligence source," Georges pressed. "Our Fleet is in danger of being completely—"

  "Yeah, we can speculate later," Dagger interrupted and dismissed the topic. "But, as they say on the home world, 'first things first'."

  Kate caught motion out of the corner of her eye. Merrick flipped his combat knife in his hands so the blade was caught between his fingers.

  Merrick was ready to take out his next target.

  Kate gasped. Would Georges give the order to kill Dagger? Did he believe such a move necessary to complete their mission...Kate's quest?

  Dagger did not take her eyes off Georges.

  "Don't even think about it, Trigger," Dagger snarled. She addressed her comment to Merrick but did not break eye contact with Georges. There was a long, uncomfortable silence.

  "Stand down, marine," Georges ordered.

  Merrick flicked his eyes to Kate. Kate nodded and Merrick flipped his knife, grabbed it by the handle and slammed it home into its sheath. Merrick's perfunctory check with Kate seemed to go unnoticed by Georges, whose eyes were locked on Dagger's. Kate wondered who Merrick would obey if it came down to a choice between Kate and orders with which Kate did not agree. Hopefully there would not be a time to test the sniper. Kate looked at Dagger and Georges. Hopefully, there would be a later.

  "The Blade is keyed to my biometrics," Dagger said, then stressed, "my active biometrics. I need to be alive for this ship to do anything."

  "Right," Georges replied, taking the revelation in stride. He gestured at the pilot with a 'let's hurry this along' motion. "Demands."

  "I need you to help me retrieve something before we lift from Transom," Dagger stated.

  "Who do you want us to rob?" Ross snorted but did not turn. His attention was still outside the Blade and any danger which might appear from the mine or the desert. Kate figured he was used to letting officers take care of business. His duty to protect the ship overrode any curiosity. It was up to those with higher pay grades to solve such disputes as this between a superior officer and potential contractor.

  Dagger grinned. The expression did not bring any mirth to her continence though. To Kate, it looked more like the pilot's face was creased with irony tinged with grief.

  "We need to pick up someone," Dagger explained. "I fly us there. Your team goes in, snaps her up."

  "Her?" Kate asked. She wondered who on Transom Dagger would think was worth the risk of all of their lives.

  "My sister." Dagger's news came out and dropped to the deck.

  Georges held Dagger's gaze for a long moment then exhaled heavily.

  Kate knew this meant victory for Dagger.

  Dagger knew it too. She turned and left Georges staring at her back then strode toward the Blade's cockpit.

  "You still playing co-pilot, Flyboy?" Dagger called without turning her head.

  Garrett shook his head and looked to Georges for confirmation. Georges nodded and Garrett hurried to catch up with the Blade's pilot.

  "Ross," Georges growled, "Get the door." He stalked out of the cargo bay after Dagger without another word.

  Kate looked at Merrick. He shrugged and slipped his rifle off his back and looked at it critically. Merrick followed Georges. Ross threw an oversized switch at the side of the compartment. The ramp shuddered and it's hydraulics hissed as it began to rise.

  "Men," Sparrow remarked as she moved to Kate's side. "They can go from one thing to another without a thought."

  Kate looked through the door leading into the center of the ship. She could see Merrick already disassembling his weapon in the common room, intent on restoring it to full working order for their next mission.

  "What's it say about us for putting up with them?" Kate asked.

  "Means we're idiots," Sparrow snorted and winked. "Don't worry, as you just witnessed, women run everything anyway." The sprite took Kate's arm and guided her out of the compartment. "Glad you're back, by the way. Ross bet fifty credits you guys bought it."

  "He would," Kate laughed. She looked back. Ross was double-checking the straps which held the two dozen odd packing crates in the cargo bay. She turned her attention back to Sparrow. "How did you guys find us?"

  "Dagger."

  Kate stopped walking. Sparrow was forced to pause next to her since their arms were still interlinked.

  "She came after us?" Kate asked.

  "The escape pod came equipped with a transponder," Sparrow explained. "Once she clued me in on what to look for, I scanned for the correct code and we followed the signal right down here."

  "Emergency beacon," Kate rolled the words around. She mulled the thought over in her mind. Yes, a beacon plus the smoke from their landing may have drawn the initial search party. But, Kate thought, the appearance of the trackers on their trail at the dump truck and the mech showing up in the right hopper at the right time were both still unexplained. She looked back at the cargo door, now closed, then to Sparrow. Kate realized with certainty someone out there knew about her. "We need to go."

  Sparrow was about to ask why. She gazed into Kate's glowing eyes and nodded.

  "Let's get to the bridge." Sparrow gripped Kate's arm tighter and pulled her in the direction of the Blade's command deck.

  Kate met Merrick's eyes as she rushed past the table he was using as a weapons cleaning station. She felt the urge to sit and watch as he methodically disassembled his equipment. Time alone would have to wait. They needed to get moving, even if it was only onto Dagger's mission. She wanted to put Solom Mines as far behind them as possible.

  The figure stepped out of the shadows of the observation tower. His robe and billowing pants caught in the ceaseless wind which blew across Transom's wastelands. In the distance, the skipjack called Blade Redeemed lifted off. The ship rose only a few meters before streaking off low over the endless rows of mine tailings. The starship reached the edge of the open pit of the strip mine and disappeared into the gaping chasm.

  "Tactically sound departure," the man noted approvingly. He made no move to order those under his command to give pursuit. He did not need to hurry.
/>
  Jonte could follow his new prey across all of space. He was a Watcher. One of the Select chosen to commune with the being called Knowl. Through this connection, Jonte could access the infinite wisdom and universal awareness possessed by The Great One.

  Having eaten of the fruit of Knowl, Jonte's mind was opened to accept the Knowledge of Good and Evil; to the knowledge of all things.

  Until today.

  For some reason he could not yet discern, the usual ease with which he tracked the enemies of the Tallinn had been thwarted. Direct knowledge of these humans would not come to him, no matter how deep his trance or how close his connection to Knowl.

  The ability of these agitators to hide from Knowl made them dangerous; extremely dangerous. For Jonte, this meant only one outcome to this chase was acceptable, no matter the difficulties he faced.

  He looked out over the mining complex and smiled. His quarry escaped, yet he had verified an extremely important fact. Jonte now knew how to track them. If he could not find them through discernment of their actual physical location, Jonte would find them based on the results of their actions. The Watcher found his solution brilliant in its simplicity.

  If the damage to the station above or mining facilities before him were any indication, Jonte assumed the task would not prove overly difficult. These people left a wide swath of destruction for him to follow.