by Jake Bible
“How many Razer residents will get in our way?”
“Hard to know. It’s Razer. Some may have made deals with the Edgers. Some will attack because they like the chaos. Some will hang back and rat us out as soon as we get by them. Others will stay completely out of it. I couldn’t lay chits on numbers for any of those categories.”
“How many residents made it off station when the Edgers boarded?”
“Not many.”
“Any chance the ones that made it will mount a counter attack to retake the station on their own?”
“Why would they do that?” Binter laughed.
“Looking at all angles of possible conflict.”
“Loyalty isn’t a trait for Razer residents. If they made it off, they ain’t coming back until they know the station is stable. If they come back at all.”
Roak nodded then glanced over his shoulder at Hail. “Am I missing anything?”
“Why are you asking me? You’re the professional tough guy.”
Roak kept his eyes on her until she shrugged.
“By this time, the sex workers will be switching their focus from Razer to Edgers. We adapt fast.”
“Get cozy with the conquerors,” Roak said.
“They’re all conquerors to us,” Hail replied.
“Anything else?”
“Bars and clubs will reopen as determined by the bravery of their managers and owners. Some never closed.”
Roak nodded, recalling their earlier club experience.
“True,” he agreed. “With luck, folks will stay in the bars or their cabins and leave us alone.” He pointed at Hail. “You see someone you know that can help spread the word through the grapevine, you tell them to hide and stay hidden. Otherwise, they may get a plasma blast to the face for their bravery. Let’s keep these passageways clear. Got it?”
“Yes, Roak, I got it,” Hail replied. “You ready to go yet?”
“Ready,” Roak said. “Let’s move out.”
27.
The route to the air processors was far from Edger free.
Binter and his guards led the way. Roak let them as he hung back with Hail, covering the group’s rear. That way he could keep an eye on Binter, too. He didn’t trust the Ferg farther than he could throw the little scumbag.
First passageway was an easy take down of four Edgers. They each took blasts to the backs of their heads before they even saw Binter’s crew.
Second passageway was a tad harder. Only Three Edgers, but all ready to fight as soon as the group rounded the corner. Binter lost two guards in the process of taking out the three Edgers.
Third passageway was a shit show. Roak’s words as he kept Hail out of the line of fire and let Binter fight the fight needed to get them moving again. Six guards lost.
That was eight casualties before they even got to the air processors and the climate shaft access point.
“Don’t say a word,” Binter said to Roak as they wound their way through the maze of processors to the grating that covered the main climate shaft they’d use to traverse the gap between the sectors. “I don’t need to hear it.”
“Wasn’t gonna say a thing,” Roak responded. He took Hail by the elbow and pushed her towards the middle of the group. She gave him a questioning look. “Better to have our backs covered in a tight space like this.”
The group was able to walk three abreast as they piled into the shaft and started the short journey to the next sector. Binter kept Roak and Hail company.
“One of those Edgers had to get a message out,” Roak said. “They’ll know we’re coming.”
“It was only a matter of time anyway,” Binter replied.
Roak grunted in acknowledgement.
“You are going to keep your end of the deal, right, Roak?” Binter asked as they were halfway along the shaft. “No double cross at the end of this, right?”
“You think I’d tell you if I was planning a double cross?” Roak snorted. “No, Binter. No double cross. I’m the one that gets double crossed, not the one that does the double crossing.”
“I’m putting way too much trust in you,” Binter said.
“Yeah, you are,” Roak agreed. “Still not sure why. You can muscle your way to the control room without me. Then track down Pol yourself. You know this station better than I do.”
“I’ve explained why—”
Roak made a dismissive gesture. “I don’t really care. Only letting you know that I don’t believe a word out of your mouth. I’ll go along, since you’re paying me and I need to survive anyway, but don’t for a second think that I accept your version of needs.”
“Luck,” Hail said.
Binter and Roak glanced at her.
“Luck,” she said again. “Or your version of it. You’ve survived two attacks that should have killed you, managed to find med pods when needed, broke folks and got them to admit their secrets and deceptions, then got yourself hired by the head of security to help retake Razer Station and complete the bounty you came here for in the first place. Luck.”
“Fortuitous skill,” Binter said.
“Luck,” Hail insisted and shrugged. “Call it what you want. It’s still luck.”
“That’s it. Luck,” Roak replied dryly.
The group came to a stop and Roak pulled one of his KL09s from its holster.
“What’s happening?” Binter called to the front of the group.
“Bodies,” someone called back.
“Bodies? So? Move them and keep going,” Binter barked.
“Might want to come look,” the guard replied. “Bring the bounty hunter.”
Roak growled as he shared a look with Hail.
“Come on,” Binter said and started pushing his way to the front of the group.
The Ferg stopped cold and Roak would have run right into him, but the bounty hunter had already started slowing since he could easily see over Binter.
“Shit,” Roak muttered.
Hail was right behind Roak and she let out a gasp and a cry when she reached his side. She started to rush forward, but Roak held her back.
“Careful,” Roak said. “Body could be booby-trapped.”
Roak grabbed Binter and spun the Ferg around, slamming him into the wall of the shaft. He instantly had a couple dozen weapons pointed at him, but he ignored the firepower and focused on the head of security.
“This message is for me. That means someone knew I’d be walking this route,” Roak snarled into Binter’s face then looked back and forth at the guards around him. “Get those Eight Million Godsdamn guns out of my face or I swear I’ll take them off you and blast you each a new asshole!”
“Back off,” Binter coughed.
“You got a rat,” Roak said and let the Ferg go.
Binter grasped at his neck, coughing and hacking. He spat a huge wad of phlegm onto the ground then eyed Roak.
“I don’t have a rat,” Binter said.
“Then explain that,” Roak said, pointing at the corpse.
The corpse that had been Coult at one time, but became a carved-up pile of strips and hunks of flesh. Except for the head which had been set dead center on the ground. And in front of the severed head was a message written in blood that read, “Find me the old man or I kill everyone you’ve ever cared about.”
“I don’t have a rat,” Binter said with confidence. “But the grapevine ain’t exactly foolproof, Roak. Someone heard something and it got back to whoever did this.”
“I know who did this,” Roak said.
“No,” Hail whispered. “She couldn’t, Roak.”
“Oh, she can and she did,” Roak said. “No Maglor heads, so that’s good. The old man still has the monkeys watching his back.”
“Roak, I’ve known Pasha for a long time,” Hail insisted. “She’s not this cruel. And she’d never hurt Coult. Never. They were friends.”
“Hail, you need to listen and listen good,” Roak said. “You have no idea who Pasha is. The girl you knew doesn’t exist. Th
at was a character she played to get to what she needs. And what she needs is Pol because she thinks he’s the one making the trans-space tech. She doesn’t know about the Skrang R & D level. If she did, she’d go there and take what she needs then leave the station. This? Coult’s head? Means she’s getting desperate. Maybe she heard the Skrang are on the way. Maybe her real bosses have her on a time table she’s about to blow.”
“Or maybe she’s a psycho that likes to cut people up,” Binter said. “It would explain a few bodies I’ve found over the past few months.”
“No,” Hail said, shaking her head back and forth. “Not Pasha. Please…”
Roak heard the desperation in the woman’s voice and didn’t try to argue with her anymore.
“Add another player to the game,” Roak said to Binter. “You know who Pasha is, yeah?”
“I know who Pasha is,” Binter replied.
“Of course you do,” Roak said. “Have one of your people hurry ahead and get the word along the grapevine to be on the lookout for her. Drop her on sight. No talking. Kill her if she’s found. Otherwise, she’ll kill whoever finds her.”
Binter relayed the order and a woman took off from the group, her carbine strapped tight to her back as she sprinted ahead down the climate shaft.
“I blame you for this,” Binter said to Hail.
“Me?” Hail exclaimed.
“Lay off,” Roak warned. “I mean it, Binter. This isn’t a shit rolls downhill situation where you get to pick on the Lipian whore.” He sighed and glanced at Hail. “Companion. Whatever. Leave her alone, you little Ferg.”
“You might not be worth what—” Binter started to say then stopped as Roak snatched him back up by the neck and lifted him off the ground, a KL09 pressed to his forehead.
“I’ve taken you twice in less than a minute and your people haven’t been able to stop me,” Roak said. “I’m worth every last chit you’ll be paying me.”
He dropped the Ferg and holstered his pistol. Then he eased Hail around the severed head and the mutilated body. Roak pushed through the group and took the lead, stopping only long enough to ask, “You coming or what?”
28.
The second they stepped out of the climate shaft, Roak threw Hail to the ground and joined her as a barrage of plasma and laser blasts nearly ripped them to shreds.
He’d had a feeling. He also saw the body of the guard Binter had sent ahead to get the word out about Pasha.
The couple of security guards that had been directly behind Roak and Hail obviously didn’t have the same feeling, nor did they see the guard’s body, because they were torn apart before they could think the word “duck.”
Roak grabbed Hail to him and rolled across the climate control room. He kept the two of them rolling until they were semi-safe behind a large air exchanger. The machine was as large as a small house, but it was made of thin metal alloy and wouldn’t hold up to plasma fire for long.
Roak knew that, and as soon as they had cover, he yanked one of his KL09s free and ducked his head out for a quick peek to see what their situation was. His attempt at gathering some visual intel was met with six plasma blasts to the exchanger. Hunks of the thin alloy were carved off as bits and shavings flew into Roak’s face. He growled as he tucked back fast and turned to Hail.
“We’ll need to run for it,” Roak said. “How well do you know this part of the station?” The terrified look on Hail’s face told him all he needed to know. “Great.”
Roak closed his eyes and tried to recall the image of the holo that Binter had shown him. He mentally retraced his steps then started the journey over again until he had a visual in his brain of where they were and what lay ahead.
“Two exits,” Roak stated when he opened his eyes. “They’ll have both blocked.”
The firefight intensified as Binter’s guards rushed from the shaft and engaged the Edgers. There were screams of pain and groans of death from both sides. Roak didn’t really care who was dying, as long as the focus was off him for a while.
“I didn’t get a great look, but my guess is there are about fifty or so Edgers crammed into the far side of this room,” Roak informed Hail. “Lined up so that when one goes down another takes his place immediately. Someone knows basic military formations and tactics. That can work in our favor.”
“How?” Hail managed to croak between flinches from the sounds of the battle.
“Makes them predictable,” Roak said. “The majority of them won’t have any formal training, so as soon as the little bit they have been taught goes wrong, they’ll revert to the chaos of raw violence. I just need to rattle their cages some.”
Roak fished out two concussion grenades.
“Wouldn’t plasma be better?” Hail asked. “Those actually kill.”
“I don’t want to kill,” Roak said. “I want panic. I want confusion. I want live bodies getting in the way of other live bodies.”
Roak activated both grenades and chucked one in the direction of the Edgers and the other in the direction of Binter’s guards. Hail gasped at the last action.
“Ready?” Roak asked right before the grenades went off. “Now!”
He pulled her to her feet and sprinted around the far side of the exchanger. Roak knew that side would be watched, so he was ready with his heavy pistol and dropped the three Edgers that should have been ready to drop him first. Unfortunately, they were distracted by the concussion grenade and were all three looking the wrong way. They never saw their deaths coming.
With Hail in tow, Roak ran as fast as he could, his KL09 barking plasma left and right, but mostly straight ahead. Edgers popped into view, surprised to see Roak and Hail making ground so quickly. Roak used their surprise to his advantage and killed every wide-eyed being that thought about raising a weapon in their direction.
They jumped and dodged over bodies while the firefight continued to rage in the industrial space. In the back of Roak’s mind, he kept a running tally of the Edgers he killed while also parsing the status of the battle. To him, it sounded about dead even. The Edgers had the numbers, but Razer was Binter’s people’s station.
Binter’s side of the battle had more to lose and more to fight for. Roak highly doubted that any of the guards had promising employment prospects elsewhere. No one ended up on Razer Station with a solid resume and good references. At least not the legit kind of good references. So they’d all be more than willing to kill to keep their place on Razer.
A halfer that was part Gwreq stepped out of the shadow of an exchanger and sent a fist at Roak’s head. Roak managed to duck under it, but Hail didn’t. She caught the stone-skinned fist right in the face and crumpled under the immense force of the blow. Roak dropped to a knee and pressed the KL09 to the halfer’s midsection and squeezed the trigger.
The halfer roared as his incredible skin couldn’t deflect that much plasma. Yet, even as his insides were cooked, he managed to reach down and grab Roak by the shoulders, lifting him high into the air.
Roak was able to adjust his aim and put a blast directly between the halfer’s eyes. But not before he was flung aside and into the wall. Roak grunted in pain as he collided with the metal paneling. He also smirked in triumph after seeing that most of the halfer’s head was gone.
Roak fell to the floor, ticked off a quick mental checklist to make sure he didn’t have another Eight Million Godsdamn broken rib, which he didn’t, then crawled over to Hail and gave her a hard slap across the face. The Lipian came to instantly, her fists flying blind and striking out at Roak.
“Stop it,” Roak snapped. “Get up.”
Roak got to his feet and yanked Hail to hers. Then they were running again, although Hail was a little slower than before and slightly wobbly on her feet. The unsteadiness dragged on Roak and for half a second, he considered cutting her loose. But he needed her. It wasn’t a bluff with Binter. He needed Hail if he was going to get to Pol. Especially if Pasha got to the old tech first. Hail was the perfect distraction.
; They passed several more exchangers before they reached the corner of the room opposite the shaft they had come out of only a couple minutes earlier. Roak stopped them at the last exchanger as the fight continued, filling the room with smoke, screams, shouts, the smell of blood and burnt flesh, and the never-ending bark of plasma rifles and pistols.
“Two exits,” Roak said to Hail. “Both blocked by Edgers.”
“Okay. So what’s the plan?” Hail asked.
“We get to the closest exit and leave this room,” Roak stated.
“And we do that how?”
“By fighting our way out.”
“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?”
“We’ve been fighting the wrong side,” Roak said with a sly grin. He handed Hail his other KL09. “You do exactly what I do and keep your mouth shut. Look angry. Look like you’ve been itching for this fight. Look like an Edger.”
“Look like an Edger? What does that even mean?”
“Watch,” Roak said as he stepped out from his cover, turned in the direction of Binter’s guards, and opened fire, a cold, homicidal look on his face.
Hail shook her head and blinked several times then followed Roak, her own pistol up and firing as they quickly moved along the back wall towards the main crowd of Edgers that were fighting Binter’s people.
An enraged Jesperian turned in their direction and Roak yelled, “Down!”
The Jesperian hesitated for only a fraction of a second before complying. Roak put two blasts into one of Binter’s guards and kept moving, nodding as the Jesperian gave him a grateful look.
Hail kept close to Roak, but he held his hand out to back her off. The illusion wouldn’t work if they looked like partners. They needed to look like Edgers trying to regroup. She eased back a step or two and put some space between them. A few Edgers glanced their way, but didn’t bat an eye since both Roak and Hail were shooting in the right direction.
Roak saw that the Edgers had split into several tight squads and were using the divide and conquer method. One squad would rush into the fray then veer off, taking Binter’s fire with them. Then a second squad would move in and drop a few more of Binter’s guards before return fire forced them back behind cover. That was more than basic military tactics.
