by Piers Platt
“Captain Pindar,” she said, gripping his hand in greeting. “Thanks for meeting us.”
“You fly cargo liners for nearly thirty years, you learn not to ignore the Colonial Guard when they call,” he said. “Though I thought our initial inspection was clear …?”
“It was,” Jiyake said. “This is Detective Adnan.”
“Nice to meet you,” Pindar said. “If our inspection was clear, Commander, what seems to be the problem?”
“I’m actually coming to you for a favor,” Jiyake said.
“A favor?” Pindar frowned.
“To be blunt, I need a ride,” Jiyake said. “I believe there’s a major crime occurring in this sector, but my hull’s breached, and I can’t make FTL travel to go intervene.”
Pindar raised an eyebrow. “Where?”
“Olympus,” Jiyake said.
Pindar’s other eyebrow lifted up, as well. “Commander, I’m supposed to start cross-loading cargo from three other freighters onto the Nakimo in thirty minutes. After that, I’m due at my next stop in twenty-one hours. I have a schedule to keep. But instead, you want me to fly your ship to a dragon-infested colony, where a major crime is occurring?”
“May be occurring,” Adnan pointed out. “We don’t know for sure.”
Jiyake sighed. “And there’s a good chance we’d be putting the Nakimo in harm’s way, at least until we can get the Extremis out of your cargo hold. The criminals are likely armed, and dangerous.”
“That’s a hell of a favor you’re asking for,” Pindar said.
“I’m aware,” Jiyake said. “I wouldn’t be asking if it weren’t my only option. And if I didn’t think people’s lives were at stake.”
Pindar bit his lip, and eyed the commander, and then the detective. “I have a colleague who’s fond of bragging about a time his ship was commandeered by the Colonial Guard. Apparently they needed it for an undercover sting operation. The way he tells it, he didn’t have a choice in the matter – the Guard just seized his ship for the duration.”
“That’s probably true,” Jiyake said. “I do have the ability to do that, if the situation warrants.”
“Well,” Pindar said, rubbing his chin. “I’d love to be able to shut him up, the next time he wheels that story out at the bar, by telling him about the time I escorted a cutter into battle.”
Jiyake grinned. “Does that mean you’ll help us?”
“No,” Pindar said, shaking his head. “At least not officially. You better invoke whatever legal crap you need to, and commandeer my ship officially. Otherwise I’ll have corporate fining me for lending my ship out for a fool’s errand.”
“Consider it done,” Jiyake agreed. “The Nakimo is officially under command of the Colonial Guard. I’ll send you a copy of the paperwork in about two minutes.”
“Hmph,” Pindar said, grunting in mock annoyance. “Damn Colonial Guard, always throwing their weight around.” He smiled. “Where’s the Extremis now?”
Jiyake checked her wristpad. “Waiting about five hundred meters off the Nakimo’s bow, if Chief Risley hasn’t run into any traffic flying over here.”
“Good. Let’s get it loaded up,” Pindar said. “And then I’ve gotta go call my boss and pretend I’m upset about all this.”
Chapter 29
Falken pushed the lid to the sensory displacement pod upward, and found Shep waiting for him, pistol pointed at his chest.
“Did they fix it?” Shep asked.
“I don’t know,” Falken said. “The dragons came just as we were finishing the repair.”
“Out,” Shep said, gesturing with the pistol. “Back to the conference room.”
Falken padded down the hall in the wet bodysuit, with Shep behind him. In the conference room, Falken’s fellow hostages sat around the table, watching the screens. Kuda leaned on the table, talking to Captain Auresh’s image.
“… testing it now,” Auresh said. “Stand by.”
Falken took a seat between Raynard and Vina.
“How are you feeling?” Falken asked the journalist.
“Weak,” Raynard replied, quietly. “And worried.”
Vina put her hand on Falken’s arm. “How did it go?” she asked.
“They lost another couple crewmen,” Falken said. “But I think they got it fixed.”
“What happens now?” Vina whispered.
“I don’t know,” Falken said.
Auresh appeared on the screen again a moment later. “Engines are operational. Get ready to move.”
From the end of the table, Ed spoke up. “Don’t forget our deal,” he said. “Get me off this planet, and I’ll reward you handsomely.”
“Captain?” Kuda asked.
Auresh frowned. “He can come. The others stay. Clean things up over there, and then get to the Starfarer. We’re taking off in five.” The screen shut off.
‘Clean things up,’ Falken thought. Ah, shit.
“Everybody up,” Kuda ordered.
Falken stood, surreptitiously gauging the distance to Kuda, who was closest to him. But he’s no fool … he’s maintaining enough distance that I’d be dead before I got anywhere near him.
Falken looked over at Shep, who was typing into the computer terminal at the table; Falken saw that he was deleting all of the research center’s security camera footage for the day, and disabling the cameras.
“What about the other two? The pilot and the captain from the resupply ship?” Shep asked, stepping away from the computer.
Kuda frowned, then dug in his pocket. He pulled out a set of handcuff keys and tossed them over to his brother. “Go. I’ll stay here.”
Shep turned and disappeared down the hallway toward the Liberty Belle’s docking tube, pistol in hand.
* * *
Captain Muir shifted on the cold metal floor, trying to get comfortable. Over her head, her left hand was starting to go numb from the handcuff binding her to the docking tube’s handrail. With her free right hand, she tugged on the cuff again, trying to loosen it, to no avail.
Beside her, Talus slid his own handcuff along the rail. “My hand’s killing me,” he muttered.
“Mm,” she agreed.
Talus suddenly sat up straighter, cocking his head to one side. “I think I hear someone coming,” he said.
They peered through the open airlock door, into the research center.
“Shit,” Muir said.
A man she recognized as one of the Ecolympus’ tourists strode into view, then came to a stop in the airlock door frame, standing over them. Muir’s gaze flicked over to his pistol, then back to his face.
“Did Captain Auresh send you?” Muir asked.
“Yeah,” he said, and lifted the pistol.
“Wait!” Talus cried, but the gun bucked in the man’s hand, and Muir saw the bullet strike her pilot in the chest.
She screamed in fear and rage. The gun barrel swung toward her, but Muir kicked out, and managed to knock the man back a step. Muir reached up along the wall, scrabbling for the hatch controls. The man swore in pain, and aimed at her again, but Muir’s thumb found the button in time, and the airlock hatch snapped shut. The door caught the man squarely in the back and flung him to the ground; Muir heard the crack of his head hitting the floor. The man lay still, gun clenched in one fist. Something small and shiny had fallen out of his other hand – Muir saw it was a set of keys. She grabbed them and jammed them into her handcuffs’ lock, then wrenched her sore wrist free.
“Talus!” Muir knelt beside her friend, who was holding a hand to his chest, gasping in pain. He dangled awkwardly from his cuffed hand.
Muir freed him, then laid him flat on the floor, pressing her hands against the bleeding chest wound. Talus looked up at her with wide eyes, his mouth working in silent shock.
“He shot me,” he managed.
“I know,” she told him. “Keep pressure on it.”
She looked back at the closed airlock, and then the unconscious man on the ground. Hurriedly, she gra
bbed the pistol from him, but the man didn’t move.
There are probably more of them down in the research center. And they’ll be getting suspicious when this guy doesn’t come back. But I can’t take off. And I need help to treat Talus ….
“I gotta leave you here for a bit,” she told the pilot.
“No,” he said, shaking his head.
“I’ll be back, I promise,” Muir said. “I’m just going to get Brondi and Luthena, they can help treat you, okay?”
Talus nodded. “Be careful.”
“I will.” Muir stood up and tugged the unconscious man over to the far side of the docking tube, then handcuffed him to the handrail, just as she had been handcuffed. Then she keyed the airlock release, gave Talus a final reassuring look, and stepped through into the research center.
* * *
“That sounded like a gunshot,” Falken said, keeping his arms raised in the air.
He could see Kuda’s grip tightening on the pistol. “Quiet,” Kuda said.
“Or what? Or you’ll shoot us?” Raynard asked.
“So far you’ve managed to stay pretty clean in all this, Kuda,” Falken said, keeping his voice even. “If it ever comes to it, they’ve got you on kidnapping, but that’s not a life sentence. Murder is.”
Kuda eyed Falken. “Yeah? What do you know about it?” he asked.
“I’ve been on your side of the room, once,” Falken said. “I know you’re feeling like you don’t have a choice. But you do.”
“Spare me,” Kuda said. “Just shut it.”
Behind him, Falken glimpsed a flicker of movement. Was that …?
“Kuda, look out!” Ed shouted.
At Ed’s warning, Kuda glanced over his shoulder, and then lunged forward. He grabbed Vina by the wrist and tugged her in close, shielding himself behind her and setting his pistol against her forehead.
“Oh shit oh shit oh shit,” Vina said, her voice rising in pitch. She closed her eyes.
“Drop it!” Kuda yelled. “I see you, whoever you are – drop the pistol.”
Slowly, Captain Muir stepped out from around a corner of the hallway. She kept her pistol pointed at Kuda. “I’m not going to drop it,” she said.
“Do it, or I shoot her,” Kuda yelled.
“If I drop it, you’ll shoot all of us,” Muir said. “And if you shoot her, I’ll shoot you.”
In the silence that followed, Falken could hear Vina’s rapid breathing from across the room.
“Drop it,” Kuda repeated. “Or I’ll call for them to send reinforcements over here.”
“No,” Muir said. “You touch the radio, you die.” Muir kept her gaze fixed on Kuda and Vina. “Luthena – Talus is shot. He’s in the docking tube. Can you get him inside the Liberty Belle? There’s a med pack on the wall in the cargo bay.”
Luthena nodded. “Yeah.”
She edged toward Muir, and then broke into a run.
“What did you do to my brother?” Kuda asked.
“I slammed a hatch on him,” Muir said.
“You bitch,” Kuda swore. “You killed him.”
“He was trying to kill me,” Muir said.
Fucking Ed, Falken thought. Muir had the drop on Kuda. And that bastard warned him she was coming!
“What now?” Muir asked.
“Now?” Kuda asked, shifting slightly to stay behind Vina. “I’m taking her and leaving.”
He began to back out of the conference room. Muir kept her gun trained on him – for every step backwards he took, she advanced another step forward. Ed joined Kuda, keeping pace with the younger man as they moved through the tunneled hallway. Falken, Brondi, and Raynard followed close behind Muir. They reached the vehicle bay airlock a moment later. Kuda glanced backward quickly, then stepped into the airlock alongside Ed. Vina’s feet caught on the lip of the hatch – she stumbled slightly, but Kuda yanked her back upright, keeping her in between him and the others.
“You’re a real asshole, Ed,” Raynard noted, leaning on Falken’s arm for help. “I hope they fucking push you out an airlock after they take all your money.”
Ed ignored him.
“I don’t want to go outside,” Vina said. “Kuda, please don’t make me go outside.”
“Ed, get me a mask,” Kuda ordered. The older man crossed to the wall, and pulled an oxygen mask off its hook. He handed it to Kuda, who managed to pull it on one-handed. “And one for Vina,” Kuda said.
Ed helped Vina put her own mask on, then donned a third mask himself.
“Kuda, just leave Vina,” Falken said. “Muir will let you go. She won’t shoot, will you Muir?”
Muir nodded, and lowered her gun, pointing it at the floor. “If you just walk out of here and leave her, I won’t shoot,” she agreed.
“I don’t think so,” Kuda said. “I don’t trust any of you. Any more than you trust me.”
Kuda pushed Vina over to the airlock wall, next to a computer terminal. Glancing between the terminal and Muir, he typed in a series of commands.
“Brondi, what’s the override password?” Kuda asked.
Brondi frowned. “What? Why?”
“Because I’ll kill Vina if you don’t tell me, that’s why,” Kuda said.
Shit, what’s his game? Falken thought. This is moving too fast.
Brondi sighed. “‘Cycle red matrix,’ all one word, no caps,” the researcher said.
Kuda typed it in. Suddenly, an alarm bell sounded, and the outer hatch slid open. Falken could feel the cool night air rushing in, seeking to equalize pressure with the atmosphere in the research center. Kuda swung his pistol over and fired a rapid salvo into the remaining air masks hanging on the wall. Falken ducked as a bullet ricocheted past him into the hallway. He looked up to see the tanks leaking air, while Kuda dragged Vina through the outer hatch, with Ed close behind. Then Brondi ran forward and typed on the terminal, and the outer hatch slid shut, hiding the three of them from view. Falken hurried over to the oxygen masks, but all bore bullet holes in their metal skin.
Brondi tapped on the computer screen again. “The outer door’s locked – they won’t be able to get back in,” he said. “But he vented most of our oxygen. Levels in here are already dangerously low. We’ve only got a few minutes left.”
“These tanks are all fucked,” Falken said, turning away from the masks. “Muir, give me your pistol.”
“So you can go after them?” Muir shook her head. “You don’t have air. And they’ve got a ship full of armed men. Think, Falken.”
Falken slammed his fist against the wall in frustration.
“Well, none of us are going to have air in a minute,” Brondi noted.
“The Liberty Belle has air,” Muir said. “Come on.”
Falken turned and stepped over to Raynard. “Carrying me again?” the journalist grunted. “Fuck, okay. I guess we better.”
They hurried back through the research center, Brondi and Muir leading the way, Falken carrying Raynard on his back. In the docking tube by the landing pad, they found Luthena kneeling next to Talus, a med pack laid open on the floor next to them.
“What happened?” Luthena asked.
“No time!” Muir replied. “Explanations later. Brondi, help her get Talus on board.” Muir stooped and uncuffed the still-unconscious Shep, while Raynard slid off of Falken’s back.
“Is Shep alive?” Falken asked.
“This guy? I think so,” Muir said. “Just knocked out.”
“Well, what do you want to do with him?” Falken asked.
“We better get him on board, too,” Muir said, grimacing. “I don’t want him waking up and getting ideas. Grab him and follow me.”
Chapter 30
The outer hatch of the Starfarer sealed shut, and Kuda breathed a sigh of relief.
No dragons.
The inner door rose up a moment later; Captain Auresh was waiting inside, his arms crossed in annoyance.
“What the hell did you bring her here for?” he asked, indicating Vina.
“You already had hostages.” Auresh frowned. “Where’s Shep?”
“Dead,” Kuda said, his rage barely controlled. “They killed him.”
“They killed him? You mean the others are still alive?”
Kuda nodded. “But not for long. I overrode the safety protocols and left the outer hatch open. There’s no atmosphere in there anymore. They’ll suffocate in minutes.”
“Really?” Auresh asked. “You’re sure of that?”
“I vented their air,” Kuda protested. “They can’t survive.”
“They’re dead? You saw them – all of them – die?” Auresh pressed him.
Kuda gritted his teeth. “… well, no,” he admitted.
Cadellium appeared behind Auresh, frowning. “Who are they?” he asked.
“Hitchhikers,” Auresh told him, sarcastically. “I’m handling this.” He turned back to Kuda. “You fucked us,” he said. “If they can get back inside the Liberty Belle and close the hatch, they’ll be safe.”
“It was a fluid situation,” Kuda said. “They killed Shep, took his gun. I did the best I could.”
“No witnesses,” Cadellium said. “That was the plan.”
Auresh narrowed his eyes at the investor. “It’s still the plan.”
“And what if they take off?” Cadellium asked.
“They can’t,” Auresh said. He held up the Liberty Belle’s master key, which dangled from a lanyard around his neck. “Not without this. They can make low level flights, inside the atmosphere only. But they can’t light the main engines without it.”
“You’re sure?” Cadellium asked.
Auresh rubbed his chin. After a moment, he keyed his wristpad, and then spoke into it. “Prepare for takeoff,” he ordered.
“Aye, aye,” came the reply.
Auresh turned to face Cadellium. “There are ways to bypass security protocols,” he admitted. “But they’re not well known. If the Liberty Belle takes off, we’ll be waiting for them, just in case.”
“And if they do take off?”
“We’ll blow them out of the sky,” Auresh assured him. “No witnesses, as promised.” The captain turned back to Kuda, and pointed at Ed and Vina. “Lock these two to something down in the cargo bay. I’ll deal with them later.”
