Rogue Starship: The Benevolency Universe (Outworld Ranger Book 1)

by David Alastair Hayden

  Siv stretched. “Think I’ll shower first.”

  As he stood, his eyes fell on the Kompel injection lying on his bedside table. Instinctively, his hand moved toward the syringe. But before his fingers touched it, he drew back and took a deep breath. He shivered, but his willpower held. He could resist a few days longer.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Siv Gendin

  For two days, Siv did little more than sleep. He barely ate anything. He tried reading and playing video games, but neither held his interest. He started a classic holo-movie from the twenty-fifth century, but drifted off during one of the best action scenes.

  Frequently, his eyes strayed to the Kompel injection, but he hadn’t developed the shakes yet. He wouldn’t crack…he wouldn’t take it any sooner than he had to…he could hold out a little longer…he could.

  “Sir, you seem more tired than reasonable. My sensor scans are showing you at ninety-eight percent health with minimal bone damage remaining.”

  Siv downed his protein shake and tossed the cup aside. He was lying under a blanket in his recliner near the window. “Yeah? Well, I don’t feel any more than sixty percent.”

  “I think maybe you’re rattled, sir.”

  “You think? I barely escaped death, the Tekk Reapers have marked me, and I’ve seen my father’s ghost twice now.”

  “I have to admit, sir, that you seeing a ghost is highly strange…and worrying.”

  “Stranger than the Tekk Reapers revering my dad…out of the trillions upon trillions of people in the galaxy?”

  “He was an accomplished man, sir. And no one knew more about the Ancients than he did. Gav Gendin…had an intuitive understanding of them.”

  “If only he hadn’t wiped his experiences from your storage… Then I could know whether what I saw in the dream was somehow a memory or a conjuring of my imagination.”

  “Indeed, sir.”

  “Did you scan for references about the amulet again?”

  “Nothing turned up, sir. And I’ve never heard of a non-mechanical device that could store and project memories into someone’s mind.”

  Siv sighed. “I wish I knew why it was so important to Dad, and why he wanted me to hold onto it.”

  He stroked a thumb across the ceramic amulet as he watched the sun dip below the skyline. He had chosen this apartment because it provided a prime view for watching sunsets. Some instinct…some emotion he couldn’t describe always pulled his mind westward. It was deep, almost mystical…

  He sat upright. “Silkster, I think…I think I’ve been looking at this all wrong.”

  “Looking at what, sir?”

  “Seeing my father’s ghost and the Ancient vessel in the swamp getting blown up…that’s not natural. It’s mystical.”

  “I suppose so, sir. I’m a chippy, though. Human spirituality is beyond my ken. Outside of a scientific approach, of course.”

  “What I’ve seen, real or not…I’m only going to find the answers by looking within.”

  Siv tossed his blanket aside and pried himself out of the recliner. He crossed his sparse apartment, got a drink of water, and stripped down to the waist. “Silkster, play some music…something…mystical.”

  “Does wakyran shamanic drumming sound appropriate, sir?”

  “I guess so.”

  Siv unlocked his safe and dug around until he found an inhaler of Aware buried in the back, behind a few childhood souvenirs and several stacks of hard credits.

  Aware was a non-addictive, psychedelic drug designed to heighten the senses, expand the mind, and induce a state of oneness. The effect was safe and only lasted for an hour at the most.

  Three years earlier, Siv had used it along with Awake. Mixing the two supposedly left the user conscious of their environment with only their senses heightened. He had thought it might help during a particularly difficult mission. Instead, the Awake had interacted badly with the Kompel in his system and given him a debilitating migraine. He'd had to scrub the entire mission.

  Facing west, Siv sat crosslegged in the middle of his living room. He pulled the amulet off his neck and held it up, dangling it in front of his face. Then he readied the inhaler of Aware, keying it for a single dose. Trembling slightly, he lifted the inhaler.

  “Here goes.”

  “I’ll monitor your health, sir, and call for help if necessary.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Otherwise, I’ll stay quiet and refrain from—”

  A black box appeared unbidden in Siv’s HUD. Shifting red symbols scrolled through it.

  “Incoming signal on priority channel Alpha Level One, sir.”

  Siv gasped. That was the Shadowslip Guild’s emergency signal! And he had only ever seen it used before during training exercises.

  “Silkster, upload my key and unlock the signal.”

  “Deciphered, sir. Opening the channel now…and…it’s routing through to your c|slate.”

  Siv’s c|slate had a special nano-chip that allowed secure communications between the guild and its agents. However, information and orders were normally conveyed strictly between chippies. This was actually less secure, given that a spy drone could potentially observe the screen. To use the slate for a priority message like this was an odd choice.

  Siv drew the c|slate from his pocket, pinched each corner of the ultra-slim device, and stretched it from card-sized to book-sized. The device woke, and a fullscreen window popped up, revealing Big Boss D’s face in far more detail than Siv would’ve preferred. The room beyond him appeared pitch black.

  Boss D eyed him closely. “Are you in a secure location?”

  “I’m at home, sir. Laying low like you told me to.”

  “Forget that,” Boss D said. “A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the guild has presented itself. I think this…situation…requires a procurement specialist, and you’re the best we’ve got on Ekaran IV. Hell, Gendin, talent-wise you’re the best I’ve ever seen.”

  Siv ignored the compliment. If Boss D was buttering him up then whatever he was about to order Siv to do was going to be deadly at best. “What’s the mission, sir?”

  Boss D furrowed his brow, staring at Siv. “You will infiltrate the estate of Senator Orel Pashta and travel to the south wing of the main house. Once there, you will receive further instructions.”

  “And…?”

  “That’s all I can tell you at the moment.”

  “Senator Pashta’s estate is a fortified compound,” Siv said, scratching his cheek. “He probably has dozens of security guards, combat cogs, and state of the art detection systems. Getting in there will be nearly impossible.”

  “I’m well aware of that,” Boss D replied heavily. “Nevertheless, I need you to break in, and I need you to do it tonight. The sooner the better.”

  “Tonight?!” Siv couldn’t help shouting. “Sir, that’s insanity!”

  “I know,” Boss D said, seemingly unoffended by Siv’s outburst. “But we can’t wait. It’s tonight or never.”

  “A mission like this takes months of planning.”

  Boss D frowned. “Yes, but other interests possess the same sudden knowledge we do, and they will be making their own attempts to procure the…item. I do not expect them to waste time either.”

  “If other groups are involved that significantly increases the danger.”

  Boss D nodded. “And I suspect some of them will attempt brute force.”

  “Let’s assume I don’t get killed trying to break in…” Siv took a deep breath as his mind raced through the possibilities “…if I get caught—”

  Boss D raised a hand. “Given what’s at stake, the senator’s security forces will almost certainly shoot to kill on sight. And there is zero chance they will involve the police.”

  Siv laughed derisively. “Sir…this is a suicide mission.”

  “Not for you, I think.”

  “Then you think too much of me, sir.” Siv ran his hands through his hair. “I’d need a team to pull something like this
off quickly.”

  “I cannot risk a team when you’re not used to working with anyone. Besides, given the situation and the almost certain attempts by other interests, I think a single agent will stand the best chance.”

  “You know what you have to do, sir,” Silky chimed in.

  “I know.”

  “Boss D, as a full member of the Shadowslip Guild, I have the right to refuse any mission that is suicidal in nature. And I think the Tribunal would agree with me, if you brought charges.”

  “I’m certain they would,” Boss D replied. “That’s why I’m willing to pay enough to make it worth the risk.”

  “There’s no amount of money you could offer that would make me take this mission.”

  “That’s why I’m offering you something far more valuable…your freedom.”

  Stunned, Siv rocked back on his heels and nearly dropped his c|slate. “You…you would give me my freedom?”

  “I have the Kompel antidote sitting on my desk as we speak. You do this, and you'll never have to take Kompel again. No more injections. No more guild missions. And even though you’d be welcome to work with us as an independent contractor, I’ll pay you enough that you’d never have to work again. Score this mission, and you’re set for the rest of your life.”

  “The fat man’s big-time desperate, sir. I don’t like it. Not one bit. What on Ekaran IV could be worth that much?”

  “You want me to infiltrate the south wing of the senator’s fortified compound, and at that point you will tell me what you want me to procure?”

  Boss D nodded. “The information has already been uploaded to your c|slate. But it’s geo-locked with gigabit encryption, so it won’t decode until you arrive at the location.”

  “Sir, don’t do it.”

  “You know it’s a lot easier if I know what I’m looking for before I arrive.”

  “Obviously, but the information is that sensitive.”

  “Information too sensitive for him to tell you ahead of time? Sir, while I’ve never smelled anything before in my life, I am certain this reeks like a bad donkey doo in summer.”

  Siv chewed at his lip. “Still…”

  “Sir, your freedom will be useless if you’re too dead to enjoy it.”

  Freedom from the guild. He had dreamed about it for so long, but he’d never thought he’d actually earn it.

  “Sir, you really should think about this before—”

  “I’ll do it,” Siv said.

  “Sir…"

  “Excellent!” Boss D replied. “I’m sending you all the information we have on the compound. I’m afraid it’s not much, though. Do what you have to, but don’t take too long. The sooner you strike the better.”

  “Copy that, sir.”

  “And Gendin…” Boss D leaned forward with a surprisingly earnest look on his face “…in case things go poorly…well, it was nice working with you, son.”

  The transmission ended.

  “Silkster, let’s get to work.”

  “Sir, this is nuts! You can't tell me this isn't as fishy as hell.”

  “Oh, I’m certain it is. That’s why I want you to see if you can decrypt the information. I want to know what my target is going in.”

  “Unless they made a mistake, there’s no way I can crack that level of encryption in less than a day, sir.”

  “Do your best.”

  “Sir, Boss D trusts you. So there’s only two reasons why he’d hide the information from you. Either someone else fed him the encrypted data and he doesn't actually know what it is, or whatever he wants is something terrible and something you really shouldn't get for him. Only he knows if you’re there and you’re already committed to winning your freedom that—”

  “Honestly, Silkster, I don’t care.” Siv’s eyes flicked across a document scrolling through a window in his HUD, checking to make sure everything Boss D promised was written in his contract. It was. Siv smiled broadly. “After nine years, I can finally be free from the guild!”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Siv Gendin

  The sun had set, but Ekaran IV’s two full moons bathed Bei in light, adding to the perpetual glow of streetlights, video screens, and neon signs. Standing precariously on the seat of his skimmer bike, Siv looked down on the city from high above…then took a deep breath to steady his nerves.

  It had taken him over an hour to rig the bike so that it could fly this high—for a short while—then another hour to override the half-dozen safety protocols designed to prevent him from doing so.

  Siv drew out his father’s amulet. Then, since it always brought a sense of…not comfort exactly…belonging perhaps, he peered west, toward the mountains, and beyond to the wastes.

  If he succeeded in this mission, he could explore new worlds like his dad. Maybe even uncover more of the Ancients’ secrets. But first he would buy a skimmer van, fill it with supplies, and explore the wastes just like his dad had done when he first started studying archeology.

  A determined smile creased Siv’s face. He could be whoever he wanted…do whatever he wanted.

  “Alright, Silkster, let’s do this.”

  Silky pulled up a window in Siv's HUD that displayed all the data pertaining to falling from this height and smacking into the ground.

  “After the last few days, I think I know plenty about falling by now, Silkster.”

  “Clearly not enough, sir. I would think you wouldn't want to repeat the experience.”

  Siv laughed. “I’m prepared this time.”

  “From this height…the speed…the targeting...the assumptions about their detection systems... Sir, I don’t think it’s wise.”

  “You ran the calculations.”

  “I did. But if they’re off by even a fraction, sir… Or if there’s a malfunction, or if one of the antigrav belts fails to compensate properly, or—”

  “I’m more likely to be shot up with plasma bursts as I land than to go splat.”

  “Comforting, sir.”

  Siv rolled his neck and shook out his arms. “Yes, I think so too.”

  “Sir, you really don’t have to do this.”

  “There’s no other way.”

  “You could still refuse the mission.”

  “Not happening.”

  Silky groaned. “Centuries of pre-programmed bliss, and this is my reward.”

  Siv kissed the amulet and tucked it back inside his mesh armor.

  Then he leapt from the bike and plummeted down toward the city.

  “Sorry, Silkster.”

  “Well, it was a pleasure working with you, sir.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Kyralla Vim

  Kyralla Vim's long black hair streamed behind her as she leapt off the stack of crates, somersaulted through the air, and landed behind the training cog. Her bright green eyes flashed. It was obvious, even without seeing the big smile on her face, that she loved fighting. To her combat felt as natural as breathing and she'd spent most of her nineteen years honing that inborn talent.

  Knees bent and shoulders tucked into a half-crouch, she readied her force staff. Static discharged off the metal-shod ends.

  Her opponent spun around. Kyralla was tall, taller than most men, but her broad-shouldered opponent towered over her. She couldn't see his face. A black assassin's uniform covered all but his eyes. But she liked to imagine his face as that of a dog who'd been slammed into a wall as a puppy, all squished and lopsided.

  Kyralla wore a uniform not unlike his, except where his was solid black hers was the color of ash along her extremities and darkened to black in the center. The nanofiber weave was great for stopping blades and shrapnel, but stunk at protecting her against plasma shots and explosive rounds. But she liked it that way. Light armor allowed her to be quick and agile so she didn't get shot in the first place.

  Before the large assassin could finish turning, she slammed one end of her staff into his jaw. As he fell, she reversed her momentum, pivoted the staff on its center, and used
the other end to clock him on the back of the head. He dropped to his knees, dazed.

  She sighed with dissatisfaction. That had been too easy. She scanned the large, murky warehouse looking for danger and frowned. Unmarked crates lined the walls, but other than a few stacks scattered about, it was empty. She was bored and needed more danger, more of a challenge than this.

  A premonition tickled down the back of her neck. She readied her staff. At the last moment, she sensed a threat from above. She dove aside and a single-shot flechette burst scarred the ground with tiny razor-edged discs.

  Slow-falling under the power of antigrav belts, three more assassins, armed with force swords and neural disrupters, descended from the dark girders above. They opened fire, and four bursts of concentric white circles radiated toward her.

  Kyralla had an unusual gift: microsecond precognition. She could see the future just before it happened, as long as she was focused and living in the moment. Seeing where each shot would be, a moment before it got there, she wove her way through the blasts and charged the nearest assassin.

  She reached him as his feet touched the ground, before he could fire again. He raised his sword to defend himself. She darted inside his guard and slammed the butt of her force staff underneath his chin, unleashing a full electro-concussive blast as she did so.

  The assassin’s body went rigid as a halo of electricity blossomed around his head. Even with his antigrav still somewhat active, the concussive blast knocked him a half-dozen meters away.

  Now she just had the other two to deal with. Sensing she was about to be shot, she ducked, and the neural disruptor blast whooped by overhead. Darting one way then another, she closed on the next assassin. Predicting his every move, she easily parried his sword attacks then knocked him out with a concussive blast to the temple.

  “Force staff power at fifty-three percent, madam.”

  The other assassin closed on her, firing. She saw the next shot coming, but even when you can see it ahead of time, having less than a second doesn’t always leave you with enough time or options. She dodged as best as she could, and the neural blast glanced off her shoulder. Her armor weakened the blast, but it still numbed her right arm and hand, and left her feeling a little dazed.