"At least we can agree on that. Here's the deal, Julina: this is my ship. I'm not UA Military, so there's no jurisdictional whatever here. You got five seconds to leave out the way you came, or we find out how wrong you are about me blasting your ass with this pistol."
Julina shook her head. "Oh. You're one of those smuggler types. Can't say I'm very surprised, given you're ready to shoot me even though I already told you it's pointless. Well, then, since I'm here, let's just see what I can make use of."
The next thing Ket knew, he was engulfed in a blue glow similar to the one around Julina, then it was gone, along with his pistol, and he was locked up inside the Clutch machine. Alarms sounded on the ship, and when he glanced out into the room, Julina was gone.
Ket grabbed the comm unit on his wrist. "Dub, warning, we've got a stowaway aboard; seal the bridge."
After a second, Dub answered. "Oh is that right? Maybe that explains what happened; our weapons systems are gone."
Ket slammed the door release, and darted out of the Clutch chamber. If Julina took any part of their ship, there was no telling what else was screwed besides their weapons.
"Damned Lookers, messing around where they've got no business," Ket muttered to himself as he stormed through access corridors and down levels until he was at the engine bay of the Crimson Lance. Once he surveyed the room for a minute, he contacted Dub on the intercom.
"Yeah, Dub, this Looker chick, she trashed the damned place. We best hope we don't get any action like we did from the Railen last time; ain't no shooting and scooting now. We're gonna have to run with no guns and hope no one gets a bead on us before we get away."
Dub's voice crackled over the speakers in response. "Affirmative. We're about another hour out from Zormad, present speed."
Ket reached for a piece of wire on the floor and flung it hard against the far wall. "I'll be up in a few."
#
The Crimson Lance finished its trek to Zormad. Dub activated the tracking system on the bridge, which displayed a reddish grid of their area. The Railen Tracker was marked with a glowing triangle. "We're near the outskirts of Tas Ralong. The Tracker is a few miles on the other side, some settlement called NewEarth," Dub reported.
"Settlements, huh? Think we’d find some good stuff for trade out there, like weapons system components?"
Dub eyed the map closer. "I doubt it. These settlements are typically for the dregs. People shouldn't assume a world is better just because they came to it from their last one."
"Easy there, Dub, you don't know what happened to them; their world could've been blown up or something."
Dub looked at Ket for a moment. "Or, their world was destroyed in a war of their making and they brought the fight with them." Dub pointed at the map, zoomed in to show a collection of troops and vehicles engaged in a firefight.
Ket leaned closer to the display. "Zoom in tighter; I wanna see who's there."
The map responded to Ket's command, enlarging the scene until it was clear. A group of people from NewEarth held their ground from behind vehicles and piles of rubble, but it was obvious they were outnumbered. Ket knew why; he immediately recognized the Railen insignia and the look of the ship in the background.
"The Tracker's in the middle of that?" Ket muttered.
Dub nodded in reply. "We go in there, I don't have to tell you how it'll go for us, do I?"
Ket rubbed his face. Every smuggling run, and all the petty thefts he did, all had some kind of risk in them. But the risk in those other jobs was mainly in getting away before being caught. A thief's life was more about deception and elusion. Ket had been in fights and held his own, but a brawl like this, with military action involved? Even if he wasn't personally known by those Railen, a simple run of his record would've displayed that death warrant plain and clear, and Railen were never ones that held back on something like that.
Dub's metallic tentacled fingers slid over the navigation controls. "We can bail right now, figure out some other job, and live to laugh about this another day."
Ket had a million thoughts pass through his mind right then, but he still held quiet. His mind offered several cursory images of Blue-Eyed Hood Guy, and whatever the retribution for Ket's failure might have looked like.
Ket focused himself with more positive thoughts. Easy, Ket buddy. Keep your head. Papa Chavis always said gotta play your hand nice and cool; wait until you see all the options. That's when the best one shows up.
Ket moved the view of the battle around on the screen, motioning with his hands to redirect the video before them. The scene twisted about until he focused on the NewEarth force. He froze on one of them. He wasn't sure why, but something made him look at this one. A young adult Xeno woman. Either she hadn't realized it, she didn't care, or no one else told her she should've been scared outta her mind, because she stood her ground and fired blasts at the Railen troops. Her black hair billowed around her as she aimed her weapon at the advancing Railen.
Ket froze when he noticed the marker on their console that indicated the Tracker location was over the black-haired girl. His eyes still fixed on her, he muttered to Dub, "Set the Clutch."
"Are you sure, Ket? I thought we had to be closer than this."
"We will be. Target that girl; it's on her. We don't have time to lock on just the device; better make a grab for her too."
"This is no time for harem building, Ket."
"Just do it, dammit!" Ket activated the steering controls at his console as Dub readied the Clutch. Ket rolled the ship wildly and gunned the engine. "Once we grab her, we gotta book out fast. Plot a course and stand by with the transient warp as soon as the clutch is complete."
They began their approach, shooting alongside a large transport ship in a state of disrepair. Ket gunned the engines until he and Dub lurched back in their seats. When they were fifty yards out, a few shots from the fray below slammed their hull.
"OK, they're shooting at us now. Dub, are you waiting for an invitation? Fire the damn Clutch!"
"A few more meters and we've got it!" Dub barked in response.
Several more shots pinged the Crimson Lance.
"Now or never, Dub!"
Dub smashed the control for the Clutch. A deep hum resonated in the cabin. Ket wrestled the controls on the ship as they entered the battle area. "We good?"
"Yes, cargo safely aboard," Dub replied.
With catlike reflexes, Ket wrangled the control yoke of the Crimson Lance. His eyes fixed on straight ahead, he muttered, "Hit it."
Amid a chorus of alerts from their ship console about various missile and gun locks on their craft, Dub activated the Transient Warp, and they zipped away from the scene instantly.
"Keep those engines at max, Dub, and find us a safe haven. I don't care if it's a friendly looking asteroid, we've gotta hide and fast, especially if those Railen find out what we took."
Ket took off for the Clutch hold, the repository for their haul. Ket had no idea how he was going to handle the girl, though. He wasn't in the kidnapping game; she was just extra collateral from the haul. One thing he knew—he had to make sure she was incapacitated. The way she handled herself in that fight, he had to make sure she was bound up. The one trouble-making female they already had on this trip was far more than enough.
Ket saw her through the portal to the Clutch repository. She was sprawled on her back, unconscious. Her outfit was either militia or lawkeeper, Ket wasn't sure.
He opened the portal to the repository and stepped toward her. She's as young as I thought she was, he thought. Wow, I'd have expected they left perimeter defense for more seasoned types. Xeno must just like wasting lives, he thought. As he got closer, he glanced over her frame for any obvious hiding places, but aside from the skintight envirosuit, the only clear possibility was beneath her chest. Alright, Ket, keep it together, no need to focus on the carnal instincts here. This is a simple pickpocket, just like you did hundreds of times for Papa Chavis back in the old days. Besides, your victim's un
conscious so you won't have to subdue anyone.
The UA Crest on her uniform made him stop before he pilfered too far. As a seasoned thief, Ket knew well about the defensive mechanisms of the UA, and while rigging personnel uniforms with tamper charges wasn't exactly a known practice, Ket valued his appendages a little too much for rushing anything until they had more time.
Ket gently lifted the Xeno female up and brought her to one of the cargo rooms. As he laid her down on a spare bed unit, a barrage of static burst out from the comm unit on her uniform. Ket froze and listened to the garble that quickly formed into words.
"Proximal 1 to base, acknowledge."
"Base here, receiving full strength Proximal 1, proceed."
"Identified location of Railen Tracker and are proceeding on intercept course. Will update on progress, out."
Ket felt uneasy. So much for a simple getaway. Was that the Railen? Ket wondered. He called Dub on the bridge and warned him to keep an eye out.
Back on the bridge, Dub noticed on radar a squadron of Cerulak ships headed on an intercept course with the Crimson Lance. The Cerulaks definitely weren't Railen, which should've been a consolation, but Dub well knew what they were after.
The Cerulak race in general were known as one of the more notorious breeds of scavengers and smugglers in Ling Galaxy and definitely not ones to cross. Their standard MO for getting their target was to locate and even allow someone else to capture it before retrieving said cargo and blasting their ship into vapor.
Dub’s worried voice crackled over the comm. "Our company has already arrived; you better get up here."
Dub engaged the ship’s thrusters so they avoided the oncoming barrage of weapons fire. Blasts sounded about the ship. The door to the bridge flung open and Ket hopped into his seat.
"Did you get it?" Dub asked.
"So far, just got her name... Selina. She's wearing a UA Suit, Dub. Gotta make sure it's disarmed first," Ket replied.
A shot thumped the underside of the Crimson Lance and made the cabin buffet wildly. "Damn, we can't keep this up," Ket muttered.
"They're toying with us, I think," Dub commented. "They have sufficient firepower to vaporize us and yet they don't. Furthermore, we need time for the drive to recharge before we can do another Transient Warp."
Ket nodded. "I heard chatter on the Xeno's comm from our new Cerulak 'friends'. Seems we're not the only ones hot and heavy for Railen Trackers in these parts."
As if to confirm Ket's suspicion, the bridge comm signaled an incoming transmission. Dub activated the receiver and a voice boomed over the speaker. "Calling Zion class cruiser, acknowledge."
Ket tapped the control to open the communication. "Crimson Lance here; what the hell are you blasting our ship for?"
"It should be obvious. We've identified a Railen Tracker aboard your craft."
"The hell you talking about?"
"To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?"
"Ket Durban, what's it to ya?"
"Ket Durban, you can call me Tarmun. I'm leader of this Cerulak squadron."
"Good for you," Ket replied flatly.
"I can assume you are a smuggler, or at least a thief of note?"
"That's among the nicer things I've been called. Suppose your equipment isn't off the mark and I have this Railen Tracker. What are you and your squadron gonna do, blow us all into space dust?"
Tarmun's chuckle filled the bridge. Dub looked at Ket quizzically. There were no ship maneuvers or warps out of this spot. This one required a bit of finesse, and Dub had doubts how much of that Ket had in reserve.
Tarmun continued, "Of course, we aren't interested in losing an item like that, but you need to know how serious we are. I hope you have intelligence to know avoiding a warp chase would be most prudent."
"OK, fine, I'm not an idiot. Don’t punch holes in my ship, and we'll talk."
"A sensible response. Now then, as we speak, I'm having one of my ships tether to yours. We'll then board and retrieve the item from you before letting you, your ship and crew loose."
“Mmmhmmm. You heard where I said I'm not an idiot, right? Once you get this tracker, what's to stop you from blasting us into oblivion?"
"Oh Mr. Durban, surely you realize you don't have an option here."
The console lit up with a proximity alert, and the ship powered down.
Ket bolted back to the room where he'd left Selina. She was on her feet and started toward the door once Ket entered.
"Easy, tiger," Ket said, his pulse pistol drawn. "I thought we were gonna play nice."
"What the hell's going on? The lights flickered."
"Yeah, well, that's what happens when your ship's being tethered." Ket's eyes narrowed. "My guess is they fired a transit beam on our ship to temporarily deactivate it. Standard stuff."
Selina's mouth formed a line. "Sneaky stuff, you mean."
"Yeah, well. Look, Selina, we're in a spot here. Here's the truth. I only grabbed you because of that Tracker you've got. It's got a huge bounty on it, so that's what it is. I'd have gladly skipped yanking your ass with it, but time was too short; I had to grab and scoot quick. However, the situation's changed. You may not like it, but you're in this with us now. I don't know if you've come across Cerulaks before, but they're not the friendliest people out there. That device on you, that's all they want."
Selina folded her arms. "Uh huh. They sound the same as you to me."
"Yeah, well, I'm not about killing anyone who isn't trying to kill me first. But these guys aren't on that wavelength. Your Railen Tracker is what they want. Once they get it, everyone on this ship, including you, is space dust."
Selina grimaced. "How long do we have?"
"They're tethering our ship, so not much longer. They'll come on board and take it any way they have to."
"Let me talk with them," Selina offered.
Ket's brow creased. "Just what pray tell do you think that's gonna do?"
Selina jabbed a finger to the insignia on her suit. "My unit's affiliated with the Universal Alliance. I’ll tell them I've got a warrant on you and I'm bringing you in."
Ket bit his lip, but the guffaw burst out anyway. "Oh, really? You're gonna tell them you're with the UA? Honey, wake up. The UA's a pipe dream. It's not about order out here; it's about control. That's not the same thing. You want to flash your badge thingy, like that's gonna make them cower and cooperate, but I'm telling you these guys only respond to firepower."
"So we'll give them that instead," Selina countered. "I'm assuming you took my pulse rifle since it wasn't on me when I woke up."
"Well, yeah."
"Alright, flyboy, we just have to pull a little sneak on them. I'll hide myself somewhere close. Soon as they board, we blast our way out."
"Then what? We'll still be surrounded by people trying to kill us." Ket shrugged.
"Hey, smooth talking guy like you, you'll figure out something." Selina smiled.
"Something about you isn't right, ya know," Ket replied. "Alright what the hell, I can't imagine a better option, or any other option right now. Let's go."
The tethering process took several minutes. The Cerulaks docked the Crimson Lance to their ship and disconnected all its engine capability so Ket's space cruiser was little more than a floating metallic asteroid. They activated the exterior airlock and proceeded through the ship. Tracing the life form signatures aboard, they were led to an open area with a few tables in the middle. Ket and Dub sat at the far table, their hands folded, Ket with a glum expression on his face.
The first Cerulak into the area was Brynn Mak. He'd served for several cycles under Tarmun and had taken a liking to roughing up prisoners. He'd have risen up further through the ranks by the time he'd spend in the Cerulak military, but dishing out punishment, however much deserved or not, was just too damned fun for him.
Behind Brynn, equally as large and foreboding, was Zakk Goulden. Zakk was a mentee of Brynn's and pretty much echoed Brynn's take on the fun of beating up ot
her species, especially ones that were too small or scrawny to give much resistance, of which description Ket and Dub certainly filled the bill in spades.
Ket swallowed hard at the sight of their guests and silently said a thousand prayers, wishful happy thoughts, and threatening curses that Selina was on the level about working with Ket and Dub, and she wasn't just going to sell them out. From the look of it, their survival chances were pretty slim, and Ket hoped with everything he had that Selina was as good a shot as he suspected from his brief glimpse of her in the firefight on Zormad.
Brynn gave his soon to be prisoners a greedy smile. "So, you're the ones who made off with that Tracker."
Ket shrugged. "If that's what your gear says. Me, I don't really know. Dub, you remember anything about a tracker?"
Dub's head swiveled to Ket, then back to Brynn. "Um, why no. We were just reviewing our last cargo and there wasn't a single tracker in there. Some power supplies, a little bit of rations we'd manage to spare for some less fortunate—"
"Silence!" Brynn's hand shot up. "We'll make a thorough check of the ship once you've been removed. Both of you stand, hands at your heads. Robot, all weapons disengaged."
Ket and Dub eased their way up and slowly complied. Ket wondered if something had happened with Selina, or was this her plan: figure out some way to rig the ship once they were taken and then hightail it back to Zormad? Or maybe she'd gotten stuck?
As Ket and Dub stood in position, Zakk attached binders to Ket's wrists, which brought Ket's arms down, behind his back.
Brynn nodded toward the airlock. "Robot, head out first."
Ket looked behind him for a bit, but instead of any signal he'd hoped for from Selina, he just met Zakk's fist with his face. Ket spun around and leaned over. A deep throbbing sore radiated over his head and his vision blurred for a few moments.
"None of that. We've got plenty in store for you, and there's no getting out of this, so get moving right now."
Gambit of Dares: An Interstellar War Story (The Essence Wars Book 2) Page 3
