“Affirmative Commander, broadcasting.”
I worked my way clear of the booths and saw another long hallway. I didn’t know what to think about the lack of personnel and started a brisk run down the corridor. Another big area full of booths opened in front of me so I skirted the fringe and looked down the aisles. Just when I thought the place was abandoned I caught sight of two unidentified aliens wearing armor. They had Klutch’s girth and big grasshopper like legs. Both were hauling ass down the far end of the room heading in the direction I had just came from. They ran like Ostriches and could cover ground quickly. What made me stop and turn around were the big multi-barreled weapons they had on their shoulders. “Justice, have you received any response over the comms?”
“Negative Commander, I am also broadcasting to Coonts and Klutch but have received no response.”
“What do you make of the aliens that ran by?”
“Coram heavy gunners Commander, I have no updated information on their armor or weapons capability. It is advisable to use extreme caution.”
The beast raged as I leaped out of the aisle and opened fire with the shotgun. Explosive slugs knocked both of the surprised Coram to the floor. My slugs ran dry after nine rounds and I gave them all thirteen of the buckshot. The cloud of explosive buck shot blanketed my adversaries with fiery shrapnel. One looked like he was down for the count. The other one just behind him was struggling to get his weapon turned in my direction. I threw my left arm up and gave them three rounds of high explosive. The damage my shotgun shells started the golf ball sized explosive shells from my armor suit finished. The remains of the Coram were scattered down the hallway. I felt a little better knowing I didn’t have to worry about the two Coram coming up behind me and doing what had just been done to them.
Slapping fresh magazines onto the shotgun I headed back in the direction I was going earlier. I had just cleared the room full of booths when off to my right I saw flashing sparkling lights. Turning in that direction I was knocked violently to the ground as the booths behind me were blown to pieces. My senses returned, and I found I no longer had my shotgun in my hands. I was searching through the debris when the floor just in front of me disintegrated into a basketball sized crater. The blast spun me around to my left covering me in large pieces of the metal booths. I was furious I had once again lost my situational awareness and was targeted for my stupidity. Stretching out prone I pushed my fists out in front of me. I hit my thrusters and crashed through a nearby booth out into an open aisle. Rolling over I sent round after round of high explosive back in the direction I had taken fire from. The floor shook from the barrage and I could see clouds of smoke and fire through the flying debris.
I jumped to my feet and ran as fast as I could to flank any who I might have injured in the fusillade. I could see a Coram down on the floor against the wall and I gave my heads up display a quick glance. There was another target ambling away from my position so I lobbed three more rounds at the moving target. My proximity to the explosive rounds was a touch close, and I was dumped on my butt when the floor seemed to jump up at me. There was no longer a target on my visor. When I tried to regain my footing, I spied the handle grip of my shotgun sticking up in the air in a pile of debris across the room. I hurried to it and pulled it from the pile of wreckage. I was shocked to see the end of the barrels sheared off and the rest crushed sideways to the receiver. Pulling the loaded magazines from the ruined weapon I threw it to the floor.
I moved away from the hallway with the flashing lights but noticed several bodies lying on the floor in front of a big red door. Glancing at my visor display I saw it was clear of targets. I moved down the hallway and looked up at the gaudy lights hanging from the ceiling all the way to the big door. The glittery ambiance of the corridor had an almost nightclub like feel to it. The bodies on the floor were Coram, but they had thick black leather looking uniforms on. Three of them had holes the size of my fist blasted through their chests plates. It was hard to tell if the shots came from the front or the back. The other two were slashed to pieces. If I had to guess I would say the butchery was the work of a Tibor fighting knife. I reached up and tried the big metal handle on the door, it wouldn’t budge. I did the only other thing I could think of and smashed my fist into it three times hard and stood back with my suit weapons trained on the doorway.
Just when I felt my anger peaking once more I heard a loud ratcheting clang and the door slowly opened. It was dark inside and I cautiously stepped forward. The lights suddenly switched on and standing in the back of the room behind a huge desk was Klutch with his knife to the throat of an obese Coram. I looked to my left and Coonts was pointing his pistol at my helmet. Reaching back I closed the door and pushed the big locking bar back in place. I knew what was coming so I waited until one of them said it. “Commander what took you so long?” The Tibor gave me a horrendous toothy smile and slapped the Coram up side his fat face knocking it to the floor. Coonts put his pistol away and walked up grasping my hand with both of his. “We have been trapped in here trying to figure out how to get out of this alive.” I noticed they were both wearing some very nice looking business attire, but the front of the suits had blood splattered all over them. I now knew for sure what happened to the Coram lying dead outside.
I asked them what had happened. Klutch pulled the oversized chair from behind the desk and sat down. He put his tree trunk legs on the Coram’s back. The Coram moaned its displeasure and Klutch rewarded it with a kick in the guts. They both looked exhausted but Klutch recited the story. “We got a call from this piece of sewage two days ago saying the work to our shuttles was finished early. He sent a couple of the fools lying outside to bring us to a dinner gathering to show his appreciation of our business transaction. We had purchased civilian apparel to wear to dinner and noticed the place was almost empty. When our escorts showed up they were acting kind of strange and we felt something was not right. Then I spotted some armored troopers with heavy weapons gathered in the adjoining mall and knew from that point on we were headed for trouble. When we get to the hallway outside the other three Coram jump out and stick weapons into our faces. They took my pistols and managed to get the door open to this Throgg’s office before my warrior’s scent distracted them. They were careless and did not realize a Grawl might carry a weapon. Coonts let them know it was a grievous error and shot three of them dead. I let the other two know the reality of not searching a Tibor warrior. We then found out from this greedy fool, someone has placed a large bounty on our heads.” Klutch rewarded the Coram with another kick in the guts. “This lump of sewage decided he would collect it. We tried to make our way to the ship docks to commandeer a ship and leave, but ran into Coram troops armed with large weapons. Coonts convinced me you would not honor my clan if I got killed trying to fight the Coram gunners with my fighting knife. So we have been locked up in here holding their Commander hostage. His name is Enochey. They tried to get in once but we persuaded Enochey to call them off. They shut down all communications and refused to bring us food. No matter how much we threatened to kill Enochey they would not give us any. I think a lot of them want him dead. We questioned him wanting to know who put the bounty on our heads. He claims it was pirates.”
I was wondering where the Coram troops were. “How many troops have you seen Klutch?” “I only saw four with rail cannons mounted on their armor. We tried quizzing his fatness on troop numbers but he knows if we kill him we will die to, so he has refused to talk.”
“I took care of four heavy gunners and the rest of this place looks deserted. We had to take out a pirate frigate that attempted to land shuttles on the outpost. The morons destroyed all four of their own shuttles trying to shoot down the Legacy.”
The Coram rolled his fat face up at me. “If what you say is true, then you have sealed your fate. The frigate belonged to Cesil, clan sibling to Eiger. If you do not know of Eiger you soon will when he has you disemboweled and forced to eat your own entrails before you perish.” I la
ughed at the Coram. “Kergan said something along those same lines just before I destroyed his warship. Eiger is most fortunate he has hidden from me for so long. Soon I will bring him to judgement and he will die a coward’s death!” Enochey had a look of shock on him plump face.
I walked over to the Coram and Klutch pushed the fat alien away from him with his legs. Reaching down I pulled his hulk upright. “I killed your heavy gunners and the rest are cowering in fear. If you do not answer my questions I will cut you up in pieces and you will eat them before you perish!”
To emphasize my point I jerked his puffy hand up onto his desk and in one fluid motion drew my fighting knife and drove it almost to the hilt just between his corpulent fingers. He screamed and jerked his hand back inspecting his fingers in disbelief I had cut none off.
Klutch laughed and drew his knife and said “Now it’s my turn!” The Coram slid his huge body across the floor with his oversized grasshopper legs. “What is it you want to know?”
I knew there had to be more Coram on the station somewhere. “Where are the rest of your soldiers?” I didn’t like the look of indecision on Enochey’s face. “Klutch, I think Enochey needs to know what his fingers taste like.” Klutch jumped up from his chair and twirled his combat knife in a show of practiced dexterity.
The Coram started squalling and blubbering. “They are in the shuttle hangars!” Now we were getting somewhere. “How many are there?” The Coram blurted out. “Over fifty” “Who told you to seize Coonts and Klutch?” The look of indecision quickly changed on Enochey’s face when Klutch raised his fighting knife over the alien’s hand. “The Grawl’s picture and I.D. came over the mercenary nets two standard rotations ago. There is a bounty of twenty million credits to anyone who turns him over to Eiger’s clan. I have personal dealings with Cesil and informed him to come and retrieve the Grawl. He told me to not let anyone know the Grawl was here because hundreds of mercenaries would converge on the outpost to collect the bounty. I put out the word the Fusra pus virus was spreading throughout the outpost and most everyone fled. I told my troops to stay in the shuttle hangars and they would be safe from infection. I thought it would be a simple matter to have my bodyguards capture the Grawl and kill the Tibor.”
The Coram’s latter statement registered on Coonts face as a grimace when Enochey retched. We needed to find some fresh air. It was time to move elsewhere. We cautiously abandoned Enochey’s office. Other than the bodies littering the floor no one was in the strangely lit hallway outside. I had a hard time bulling past Klutch so I could take the lead and reconnoiter the big hallway connected the mall areas. I made a methodical sweep of the shattered booths. The place was still deserted, Enochey’s ruse was still holding. “Where are the shuttles Coonts purchased?” When Enochey wasn’t forthcoming, I pulled my combat knife and turned on the Coram. “The only chance you have of living through this is to prove you still have some worth!” The oversized alien stared at the big Tibor fighting knife. “They are in construction bay three.” It was time to let Justice know I had found Coonts and Klutch and we were going to try to get the shuttles. “Justice have you got a copy?”
“Affirmative Commander, I picked up your suit telemetry after you vacated the Coram’s office. I have no hostile contacts at this time and on your order I am ready to extract you and the crew.”
“We are going to recover our shuttles before we leave Justice. I need to get Coonts and Klutch’s armor suits to them because I expect resistance. I will need another shotgun mine was destroyed in a firefight.”
“Affirmative Commander, You will need to move to the docking arm it is approximately two hundred and eleven feet straight ahead of you on your left. I will remotely pilot the armor to arrive at the airlock entrance. I have scanned the docking arm, and it is uninhabited. I will clip an additional weapon to Klutch’s munition pack.”
“Roger that Justice we are moving towards the dock.”
Klutch shoved Enochey out in front of us and we moved through the abandoned mall. We stopped just in front of the docking area because I insisted my crew take cover in one of the booths until I got their armor out of the airlock.
The Coram was bitching about the rough treatment he was getting and I pointed out if he had broken the shuttle contract with me he would be dead instead of bitching. He promptly shut up. I opened the inner pressure door and stood inside waiting for Justice. The Legacy uncloaked outside of the docking bay and two black apparitions touched down outside of the airlock. I depressurized the chamber and opened the exterior door and watched in fascination as the two empty armor suits robot walked into the airlock. I closed the door and pressurized the lock then opened the doors. Calling to Coonts and Klutch they came running into the docking arm pushing the complaining Coram to the deck at my feet. “Commander this Throgg seems to think I should give him back the credit vouchers I took from his office.”
Turning around I pulled the spare shotgun from Klutch’s armor. I was making a conscious effort to hold my building anger in check. Stepping towards Enochey I loaded two fresh magazines then charged the barrels while it was pointed in the Coram’s face. “Let me see if I am reading this right. You seize two customers who paid you a bribe for a smooth transaction. Coonts how much was the bribe?” “Ten thousand credits Commander.” I continued. “The customers agreed to pay a fortune for two custom shuttles. How much did the shuttles cost Coonts?” “With the weapon and shield upgrades four hundred and ninety two million each Commander. We paid two thirds up front.” I turned back to Enochey and jammed the barrels of my weapon against his forehead. “So you take our money and then try to collect a twenty million credit bounty that was put up by pirates. We came here to deal with you in a fair and open manner and what we got was deceitful breach of contract. We on the other hand, are reputable trustworthy traders that want nothing more than to deal honestly with everyone. I will make you a fair and honest offer, you can accept or decline it’s up to you. To make matters as simple as possible this is going to be a yes or no offer. Is your immoral dishonest life worth the credits the Tibor took from your office?” The Coram’s eyes were bulging out of his oversized head but he still grunted out the answer I expected. “YES”
I pulled my weapon away from his head. “See how easy it is to make a fair trade. You should try it more often and you might find you would never end up in the position you are in now. Let’s move on to the rest of our business now that we understand each other. We are going to take our shuttles whether you like it or not. We can do this the hard way and I blow the whole station to hell or we come to an agreement that might entail you keeping your home in one piece. Again this is a yes or no deal. Do you want a chance at living or a meeting with your maker?” Klutch and Coonts were now suited up and if the Coram didn’t quickly come around to my way of thinking, we would go get the shuttles no matter what. “What deal must I make for you to leave my outpost?” “I want two unarmed pilots to bring the shuttles to this docking arm. In exchange for a smooth and expedited finish to our business I will randomly select a credit voucher the Tibor took from your office and give it back to you.”
The Coram pulled his bulk up off of the floor and looked like he was going to start bitching until I swung my weapon back in his face. He flinched and bit down on any further comments. He quickly moved over to a deserted atmosphere control station at the head of the docking arm. Coonts and Klutch crowded in with him and watched his every move. Enochey picked up a communicator and spoke for several minutes. By the time he was finished he was bellowing into the handset and violently threw it to the floor. I caught the last part of his discussion and he definitely threatened to kill someone. I was wondering how he would back up the threat without his bodyguards.
I looked at Coonts and he shrugged his shoulders. I guess it would be a waiting game, and I was not known for my ability to do so. “Klutch, Coonts go collect your belongings and I will wait with Enochey. If someone attempts to stop you, call me and Enochey can deal with it.” Klutch
snorted out loud and was going to protest but I waved him on. Before he left, he picked up his suit jacket and brought it to me. “Commander the credit vouchers are in the pockets.” I nodded, and they took off in a fast jog across the mall.
I turned back to Enochey. “The stupidity of your actions has doomed any chance of you making any profit from the vast quantities of legally obtained artifacts I have recovered. You would have had trustworthy business partners you did not have to worry would stab you in the back the second you looked the other way. Now all you will have is your dealings with pirates that might decide to kill you and take over your business.”
The Coram could only stare at the floor in front of him. I guess he was looking for sympathy when he said, “I paid Cesil a considerable amount of credits for protection and a percentage of my profits to Eiger. I thought if I captured the Grawl they would release me from my obligations to them. It was a business transaction nothing more. I am more than willing to make a new business partner. If I let you keep the rest of the credits will that make you change your mind?”
I laughed out loud. “You are a fool Enochey. If I choose to keep the credits, there would be nothing you could do about it. At this point you are very lucky I have not killed you for your deceit. You are fortunate I have already taken care of your obligation problem with Cesil. Now you have to worry if Eiger will blame you for his clan sibling’s death.” The realization that came from my last statement brought a look of horror to Enochey’s plump face.
First of my Kind Page 48
