Star Scavenger: The Complete Series Books 1-5

by G J Ogden

  Griff was actually glad that the portal detection device was smashed, because he had no desire to discover more new portal worlds. He was done with portal hopping. All that mattered to him now was cashing-in his score, currying enough favor with Wash to get her protection, and settling his debt with the Council. If necessary, he’d do that by turning over Cutler and Tory to them.

  Griff stepped back out of the ship, drawing his weapon in the process. He crept, cat-like, back inside the shattered building where Griff and Tory were still filling their backpacks. His head was on a swivel, watching the many nooks and crannies for any signs of an ambush. Cutler heard Griff approach and quickly drew his pistol on him, before realizing who it was.

  Cutler tutted, and shot Griff a dirty look, “You should be careful, creeping around like that, Inspector; I almost shot you.”

  Tory added another relic to her bag and smiled at Griff, “I’ll save you the trouble, if you like.”

  Griff ignored Tory, though it was becoming increasingly hard to do so, and walked up next to Cutler. “We need to leave,” he said, barely louder than a whisper. “Things are getting crazy. The RGF are under orders to stop and search ships leaving the surface.”

  Cutler glanced at him, then continued to fill his bag. “Surely, your new credentials offer us some protection?”

  Griff moved to a smashed window and peered down at the street outside. “I wouldn’t count on it; Wash’s order will supersede anything I say.”

  Tory closed the drawstring on her bag, then sidled up beside Griff. Her hand was resting on the grip of her revolver. “So, what you’re saying is that you’re of no use to us anymore?”

  Griff met her eyes and took a step back. “I’d be careful, Tory; this is an RGF planet now,” he said, fighting hard not to slip his finger onto the trigger of his weapon. “If you want to get out of this system with the contents of that bag intact, you'll still need me.”

  “Oh, I don’t know; I think we’d make it just fine without you,” said Tory, taking another step towards him. “I also think that splitting this score two ways is a whole lot better than three.” She glanced over to Cutler, who had also now finished packing his bag, and was watching the exchange with interest. “What do you say Cutler; why don’t we just leave the nice Inspector here?”

  Cutler slung on his backpack, then turned to Tory. “Griff is right. We don’t need the whole of the RGF coming after us, as well as the Council.” He adjusted the straps and grabbed his weapon again. “Besides, there is little chance that Superintendent Wash will honor her bargain if we kill her officer.”

  Tory shook her head, “She’d probably thank us for saving her the trouble of doing it herself,” she snarled. The disappointment at Cutler backing Griff was written plainly on her face. “She’s never going to honor the bargain, anyway, you must know that?” Then she again glowered at Griff, like he was muck on her boot. “And we can’t trust this asshole, either. It’s time to cut him loose.”

  Griff smiled, “You should listen to your master, Tory,” he said, buoyed by Cutler’s sudden show of support. “Now get back to the ship, there’s a good girl.”

  Tory snapped. She grabbed Griff by his collar and drew her revolver, before ramming the barrel underneath his chin.

  “Tory!” Cutler yelled, but then the crack of gunfire rang out around them.

  Tory was thrown back from the window, as if she’d been struck by a powerful gust of wind.

  Griff dove for cover. At first, he thought that Cutler had shot Tory, but as more sharp cracks split the air around them, he realized the shots were coming from somewhere else.

  “It’s an ambush!” Griff called over to Cutler, who had also ducked down under cover. Griff swiftly peeked through the window, seeing three men rushing towards them. “Three hunters, on their way up here!” he called back to Cutler. Griff chanced another look and noticed that they were all armed with compact sub-machine guns. He felt a sudden flood of panic as he recognized the weapons as the same as those used by the guards on New Providence. The clothing the men wore was also too casual for a typical relic hunter. And none of them wore backpacks or had any sort of webbing pouches to store relics. “Shit!” he called out, suddenly realizing who the attackers actually were. “They’re Council, not hunters!”, he called over, before aiming his weapon through the window and laying down suppressing fire.

  Cutler sprang up and grabbed Tory’s bag, “We must leave, now!”

  Griff emptied his magazine then darted away from the window, as the rattle of semi-automatic weapons fire crackled around them. He was showered with fragments of mortar as the bullets smashed into the walls around him.

  “Wait!” groaned Tory, who was still lying on the floor. She had one arm tightly wrapped around her body, and was clutching her ribs and chest. Her revolver had spiraled out of her grasp, and was lying on the floor a few meters away. Griff could see that there was some blood, but her armored jacket had evidently saved her life. “Help me!” Tory called out.

  Griff immediately looked to Cutler. While he himself had no intention of helping Tory, he didn’t want to commit to any course of action, without knowing Cutler’s plan first. The mercenary met Griff’s eyes briefly, then looked down at Tory. She tried to crawl towards him, but the bullet impacts had stolen the breath from her lungs. She collapsed, and held out her outstretched hand to Cutler.

  “Cutler, help me!” Tory called out to her partner, but Cutler began to back away. Tory’s expression hardened. “Don’t you leave me here!” she yelled after him. To Griff’s ears the cry was primal and raw, but he knew it wasn’t borne out of fear. It was a threat.

  Cutler gripped Tory’s bag more tightly, and continued to back away from her. “I’m afraid this is where our partnership ends, Tory,” he replied, his voice flat and devoid of emotion.

  “Cutler!” cried Tory, but Cutler just turned his back on her, and began to run. “Cutler, don’t leave me!”

  Griff smiled and followed, as another ripple of gunfire echoed around him, much closer this time. He stopped in front of Tory, and made sure that she saw his face, leering down at her. “So long, Tory.” The mercenary growled and tried to reach for her revolver, but Griff just kicked it away. He considered killing her himself, but the thought of Tory being forced back into the indentured service of the Council was far more gratifying. “Enjoy your time with the Council,” he added, showing Tory the full set of his dirty, yellow teeth. “Give Werner my regards…”

  Then Griff too turned his back on Tory Bellona, and ran. Behind him, he could hear the continuing crackle of gunfire. Except this time, it was mixed with the anguished cries of a woman who had just been betrayed and left for dead.

  CHAPTER 10

  Hudson kept low, following the sound of gunfire, before waving Liberty and Tobin forward. He’d spotted three armed hunters, moving towards the bombed-out remains of a high-tech looking building. It was close to where his wristpad had indicated the FS-31 had landed, which meant the rival hunters were likely moving to attack Cutler and Griff.

  “We should work our way around the opposite side, towards Cutler’s ship,” said Hudson, as Liberty and Tobin arrived. “We can just sneak on-board and take the scendar, while they’re busy fighting these three other hunters.”

  “Isn’t it more normal to run away from the sound of gunfire?” said Tobin.

  Hudson laughed, “You’re on an alien moon, helping two people you barely know recover an alien crystal for an alien AI that’s fighting a killer alien ship.” He paused for effect, then added, “Is there anything about this situation that’s normal?”

  Tobin recoiled slightly, “An alien AI that’s fighting a killer alien ship?” he repeated, his voice almost rising to a squeak, “Did I sleep through that part?”

  Hudson winced and glanced over at Liberty, “I take it you left out the bit about killer alien space ships then?”

  Liberty glowered at him, “We hadn’t quite got to that part yet…”

  Hudson loo
ked back at Tobin, who was eagerly awaiting an explanation, but then more gunfire crackled in the near distance. “We’ll fill you in later, this isn’t exactly a great time.”

  Tobin shrugged, “Fair enough. Anyway, I’d still rather be here than getting yelled at by my mom for being a continual disappointment to her.”

  Liberty rolled her eyes at them both, “Come on, we’re wasting time.”

  Tobin quickly peeked at the hunters through a gap in the wall, then called for the others to stop. “Hey, you two, I don’t think those three guys are hunters,” he said.

  Hudson stopped and turned on his heels, “What do you mean? Who are they then?”

  “I’ve been held for ransom by the Council across three different portal worlds,” Tobin continued, meeting Hudson’s eyes. “I’d know their goons anywhere.”

  Hudson glanced at Liberty, and he knew that she too realized that the seriousness of their situation had just been amplified. “Then we need to work quickly. Another run-in with the Council is the last thing we need…”

  Hudson led the way again, working towards the blip on his wristpad that represented the FS-31. However, the ground suddenly started to shake, and the resonant whir of engines spinning up filled the air.

  “Shit, they’re leaving!” cried Hudson, over the rising din of the engines. “Quickly, we might still be able to stop them.”

  They ran towards the ship, leaping over broken walls and scrambling across piles of rubble. However, they’d only made it about twenty meters before they saw the FS-31 rise out from the center of a hollowed-out building. Hudson raised his pistol and fired at the ship in a vain attempt to force it down, but the FS-31 had soon climbed out of range. It was burning hard towards the upper atmosphere, leaving a narrow white vapor trail in its wake.

  “Shit, we lost them!” cursed Hudson, hurriedly reloading his pistol. Then the ripple of gunfire caused them all to again duck down behind cover.

  “Wait, if that was Cutler’s ship, then who are the Council thugs firing at?” asked Liberty.

  Hudson frowned and checked his wristpad. The blip representing Cutler’s ship had gone, but he was now seeing two other clusters of movement. “It looks like those three Council goons are moving on someone else,” said Hudson. “I’m seeing two distinct groups here, but one is pretty weak; perhaps just one person.”

  “Then we have to help them,” said Tobin, without hesitation.

  Hudson raised his eyebrows, and glanced at Liberty. “Quite the hero you have here…” Liberty didn’t look amused, and neither did Tobin.

  “I’m serious, Hudson,” Tobin hit back. “I know better than most what the Council do to the people they take captive. My privileged position means I’m lucky; whoever that is up there won’t be.”

  Hudson held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. In many ways, he admired Tobin’s gutsy enthusiasm, though years of experience had taught him to tread more lightly. “Okay, kid, I’m sorry,” he said, “I’ll take a look, and see what we’re dealing with.”

  Hudson climbed across the rubble and moved to a higher position to get a better view of where the fight was taking place. He could see three men with SMGs, and one other person, huddled behind a wall for cover. He shook his head, and turned back to Tobin. “It’s too dangerous. Our priority has to be getting back to our ship, so we can go after Cutler. Retrieving that crystal is all that matters.”

  “We won’t catch him now,” Tobin replied, refusing to concede. “But they’ll need to dock somewhere, and I can use my influence to get alerted when their ship’s ID shows up.”

  “You can do that?” asked Hudson, as if Tobin had just revealed a superpower.

  “There isn’t a space station or repair dock in the galaxy that we don’t own at least some part of,” replied Tobin, holding firm.

  Hudson looked at Liberty. He could tell that she shared his concerns about getting involved in a gunfight to help a stranger, especially when it involved the Council. However, she was also strangely silent.

  “Come on, you guys,” Tobin continued. “We don’t have to be like these other asshole hunters. I would still be in a cell in New Providence if Liberty hadn’t helped me. And the others who were locked up in there with us would now be dead.”

  Hudson sighed and glanced back at the fight again. The three attackers were getting closer, but now Hudson could see the lone defender more clearly. He moved a little closer and squinted to get a sharper view, but then his eyes grew wide.

  “It’s Tory!” he called out to the others. “The person those Council assholes are attacking is Tory Bellona.”

  “Are you sure?” asked Liberty, before she also jumped up onto the wall, and moved in front of Hudson. She peered down at the gun battle, then turned back to them both. “Hudson is right. It’s Tory. We have to help her!”

  Hudson almost fell off the wall, “Say that again, I don’t think I quite heard you right…”

  Liberty jabbed him on the shoulder. “This is no time for jokes, Hudson,” she scolded him. “We have to help her.”

  Hudson nodded, and suddenly became serious. “If we’re doing this, we have to be smart,” he said, glancing down at the battle again. Tory was holding her own, but there were limits even to her abilities. Hudson knew there was only so long she could hold off three heavily-armed attackers, with just a single-action revolver. He turned to Tobin and held out his pistol, “Give me your stun weapon, and take this instead.”

  Tobin frowned, but did as Hudson asked, “I’m not sure this is a good idea. I meant what I said about being a terrible shot.”

  Hudson smiled, “I’m counting on it…” he said, before pointing to a solid area of cover, which overlooked where the fight was happening. “Make your way down there, and when I give the signal, start firing. Make sure those goons see you, then get into cover and stay there.”

  Tobin crept closer to get a look at where Hudson had indicated. “I’ll never hit them from that range.”

  “I don’t need you to hit them,” said Hudson. “I just need you to get their attention and draw one or two of them away from Tory.” Then he pointed to a hollow, closer to where the three men were. “I’ll move down to that position. When they come for you, I’ll be able to ambush them.”

  Liberty nodded, and spun her tonfas into a ready position. “I’ll circle around behind. When the group splits, I’ll take down whoever is left.”

  Hudson checked that the stun weapon was loaded, then nodded to each of them. “Okay, let’s do this.”

  They all quickly moved to their positions, conscious that time was running out for Tory. Hudson reached his ambush point first, and waited for Tobin to reach cover, before waving at him to begin. He took several deep breaths and waited as Tobin raised the pistol and fired.

  As he had predicted, Tobin’s aim was off, but the crack of the weapon was enough to get the attention of the Council goons. One of them immediately broke off and started to circle around, firing up at Tobin’s position. The young man ducked behind a wall, but continued to reach around it, firing blind. Soon the Council goon had run past Hudson’s hiding place, and Hudson sprang up, quickly firing two stun darts into his back. The goon flinched twice, as if stung by a wasp, then his whole body convulsed, before he fell heavily, face first into the rubble.

  Hudson saw that Tobin was waving, and that he seemed panicked. Tobin then pointed off into the distance, and Hudson spun around to see a second goon racing towards his position. Hudson dove for cover as the goon opened fire with his SMG. Hudson was peppered with flecks of rubble, as the bullets thudded into the wall at his side. The stun weapon fell from his hand, and the cartridge of darts dislodged. “Shit!” Hudson cried out, as he frantically tried to re-attach the cartridge, but he had no idea how the weapon operated. Another ripple of SMG fire forced him to flatten his body to the ground, taking whatever cover he could find. He then leopard-crawled through the ditch, trying to escape the hail of bullets, and reached another broken wall. It offered more cover than
the rubble in the hollow, but he was still pinned down.

  Glancing over to where the original battle had started, Hudson could see Liberty rushing towards the third Council thug. The goon turned to see her fractionally too late to do anything about the ferocious series of strikes that smashed into his head and body. Hudson tried to make his way out of the hollow, but another ripple of SMG fire forced him back. Darting to a safer position, he slid down behind a pile of rocks and twisted metal, and covered his head, as mortar rained down on him. He moved again, but then froze. Above him was the goon, SMG aimed at his chest, finger on the trigger.

  There was a sharp crack and Hudson flinched, but there was no pain. He quickly checked himself for injuries, but he was unhurt. Instead, the Council goon tumbled into the hollow, and slid down the dusty slope, stopping at his feet. There was a single bullet hole in his temple, oozing blood into the ditch.

  Hudson let out a thankful sigh, then looked up again. Tory Bellona was standing at the top of the hollow. She was holding her side tightly with one arm, but in the other was her antique six-shooter. Smoke bled out from the barrel, just as blood continued to seep from the head of the goon at his feet.

  Tobin and Liberty came charging over and both slid to a stop at Tory’s side. Liberty rested forward onto her knees, her blue streaked hair falling over her face. “You’re okay…” she said, breathless. “We’re all okay…”

  Whether out of shock or exhaustion, all three of them just stood there and stared down at him. Hudson threw his arms out wide. “Well, don’t just stand there,” he called out, “help me to get out of this damn ditch!”

  CHAPTER 11

  Hudson pushed the Orion hard and low over the surface of the alien moon, weaving through the broken city towers with practiced proficiency. Two RGF Patrol Craft remained in pursuit, but they were falling behind fast. Hudson smiled, feeling a swell of satisfaction over the fact he could still fly rings around the other RGF pilots.