by C H Gideon
Which only reinforced Reynolds’ belief that they were being lured into something.
Jora’nal wanted them in close; wanted them in a position where the Reynolds would effectively be surrounded by the armada of pirate ships above the planet as well as within range of the Asparian defense system.
“No hails?” Reynolds questioned.
Ria shook her head. “None so far.”
“This isn’t the type of place that’d throw out a welcome beyond an automated warning to keep traffic in check,” XO stated. “They’ll want to keep the system decentralized and neutral to avoid turning the planetary leadership into a target.”
“Hence the reason I was asking,” Reynolds explained. “I was hoping to catch the locals in some sort of collusion to clarify whether or not we were walking into something. Guess they’re not going to make it that easy, huh?”
“Looks that way,” XO replied.
“Your orders, Captain?” Ria asked.
Reynolds hesitated before answering, not because he was conflicted, but because he wanted to be sure he factored in every possible outcome before he decided on a course of action.
Once they were committed, there was no turning back.
“Bring us in closer and angle us around the planet, so we’re within strike range of the Pillar and as far out of range of the planetary defenses as possible,” he relayed. “If this is a trap, I’m not walking us all the way into it.”
“Just dipping our toes in.” Tactical laughed.
“Yes, sir,” Ria answered, plotting the Reynolds’ course. “Bringing us in.”
There were several quiet moments on the bridge as the ship drew closer to the planet. Reynolds split his focus between the viewscreen and his monitor, his eyes locked on the Pillar as he processed the continuous intel feed provided by the scanners.
The enemy ship remained in place, showing no reaction to the appearance of the Reynolds.
“You think they know we’re here?” Jiya asked the AI.
“I’d be surprised if they didn’t,” Reynolds replied. “They’re counting on the Asparian defense system and the pirate code of conduct to keep us from doing something overt.”
“If we go after them without obvious provocation on the Pillar’s end, we’ll end up fighting every ship in the system, whether this is a trap or not,” Asya explained.
“We can take them,” Tactical growled.
Reynolds chuckled. He felt much the same as Tactical did. He wanted nothing more than to open fire on the Pillar, but there was too much of a risk to the crew to go off and do something so audacious.
Besides, they still needed to locate Phraim-’Eh, and Jora’nal and the Pillar were the keys to that.
“There’s that automated hail you were expecting, XO,” Comm announced. He put it on the speakers so they could all hear it.
“Greetings, traveler,” a mechanical-sounding voice called, the strange language being translated individually by the crew’s chips. “Welcome to Aspar. We are a neutrally-aligned conglomerate of trade organizations bound by the tenets of cooperation and mutual profit. We are designated as a safe zone in the Asparian System and will tolerate no hostile action within our boundaries. We expect your acknowledgment and agreement of our terms. Any violation will result in your immediate destruction.”
“Straight to the point,” Tactical admired. “Gotta like that.”
Reynolds motioned to Comm’s position. “Acknowledge the warning and accept their terms,” he ordered.
“Done,” Comm answered a few seconds later. “They’re providing us with docking instructions, but I’ve declined the berth, informing them that we’ll be entering orbit rather than docking.” Comm paused a moment before speaking again. “We have permission to remain as long as we abide by the terms.”
“We have their attention, that’s for sure,” XO commented. “The defense system has allocated a substantial amount of its resources to keeping us honest. There have to be three dozen weapons zeroing in on us as we advance.”
“Can you blame them?” Reynolds asked with a laugh.
He understood the kind of threat a ship like him posed to the planet, and it was clear the Asparian defense coordinators did, too.
“Lower the shields to the minimum defense requirements against the elements to show we’re not spoiling for a fight, but I want combat readiness at all stations the entire time we’re here, folks,” Reynolds called. “We didn’t come all this way to get sucker-punched by these assholes. Stay alert, no matter what.”
The crew acknowledged the order.
“We’re in position,” Ria announced several moments later as the SD Reynolds settled itself into orbit around Aspar.
Reynolds acknowledged her report with a nod before triggering the comm. “Takal!” he said, speaking to the inventor, who was squirreled away in his lab deep in the bowels of the Reynolds. “Are all systems functional?”
“That they are,” the old scientist’s voice came back. “The Gulg technology teleportation technology has integrated seamlessly, with Xyxl’s help, and everything is up and ready to go.”
Reynolds grinned at hearing that.
They’d been caught off-guard initially by the Pillar’s tenacity and ferociousness, and their technology had been far more advanced than anything Reynolds had ever encountered. But now, knowing what to expect, and having the benefit of the Gulg tech bolstering his systems, Reynolds knew it would be the cultists who would be surprised when they crossed swords again.
“The Pillar’s gearing up,” Ria reported. “Nothing blatant, but their weapon systems are coming online, and their shields are rising to defensive levels.”
“Match them, but keep below the security thresholds so we don’t trigger the planetary defenses,” the AI commanded.
Geroux’s voice came across the comm. “I’ve hacked the transportation records of the docking system,” she told them. “Reports show that several shuttles were dispatched from the Pillar and made their way to the planet.”
“Any way to know if Jora’nal was on one of them?” Reynolds asked.
“Given the questionable nature of the planet’s operations, they didn’t demand specific traveler or load information, of course, but they were made to pass through a security checkpoint. I’ve dug a little deeper into the systems, and have pulled up video of their arrival. Onscreen.”
An image of the dock’s exterior appeared, security cameras following the Pillar’s shuttles into position. Once the shuttles were docked, the image shifted to the inside of the dock as the shuttles discharged their passengers to meet the security forces.
Reynolds growled as he saw Jora’nal exit the lead shuttle and stroll confidently into the dock alongside his crew.
“When was this?” Reynolds asked.
“Weeks ago, according to the timestamps. Three, to be precise,” Ria replied. “I’m not finding any records of him or his people returning to the ship in the intervening time. All of his shuttles are still on the airfield where they parked after leaving the space dock.”
“That means he’s still camped out somewhere below,” Jiya said with a grin.
“The question is, where?” Maddox muttered. “That Asparian city looks huge.”
“The primary population center is dense too, making it hard to parse the individual lifeforms,” Jiya reported. “On top of that, it looks like the Asparians have installed an array of independent deflectors to distort readings across the surface of the planet, making it even harder to get anything more than general details regarding numbers and basic location intel. There’s no way to know where Jora’nal or his people are within the city without getting eyes directly on them.”
“Not surprisingly,” Geroux added, “there are no cameras anywhere in town to be accessed, giving us no way to track Jora’nal’s movements since his arrival.”
“Don’t want to discourage trade by throwing up a bunch of surveillance around the place.” Tactical laughed.
“That means we n
eed to go down there and search him out,” Reynolds said.
It wasn’t how Reynold had envisioned it, but he was ready for anything.
“Should I get the new transport systems ready to send you down to the surface?” Takal asked over the still-open comm.
“Not yet,” Reynolds answered. “We’re expected to report in at the dock, so we’ll play by the rules…for now. Keep working on your project with Xyxl, and keep me appraised of your progress.”
“It’s a tough one, but I’m certain we’ll crack it soon enough,” Takal replied.
“I’m sure you will,” Reynolds fired back. “I have faith in you.”
Takal thanked the AI and closed the comm link.
“Geroux?” he asked, checking to see if the young tech was still on the line.
“Yes, sir?” she replied.
“Gain access to the planet’s communications,” he relayed. “I want you to monitor them remotely and see if we can pick up any chatter regarding Jora’nal and his people, or know if the head honchos reach out to him to warn him of our movements.”
“On it,” Geroux answered.
“Comm, I want you to stay on top of the Pillar’s transmissions,” he told the personality. “If they send a signal through the Etheric, I want it tracked to its destination.”
“Will do,” Comm replied, “although it’s clear I won’t be able to track anything they send to the planet, due to the deflectors. I’ll know they transmitted, but there’ll be no way to pinpoint a location.”
“That’ll have to do,” Reynolds told him before turning to the first officer. “Get a Pod ready, Jiya. We’re going to pay Jora’nal a visit. Asya, you’ve got command until we return. Keep the Pillar honest, and let us know if anything happens up here while we’re away. We need to stay on top of the situation like never before.”
Jiya saluted and left the bridge to collect the others.
“Yes, sir,” Asya replied once Jiya was gone, stepping around to claim the seat Reynolds had vacated. She dropped into it with a grin.
Everyone was ready to take the fight to Phraim-’Eh and his minions.
They’d trained hard in the months they’d spent on Muultar, tightening their skills and improving their teamwork at Reynold’s direction. While the SD Reynolds was being repaired and upgraded with Gulg technology, the crew had hunkered down and worked their asses off in preparation for facing Phraim-’Eh and destroying every one of his disciples.
Jora’nal and his master were going to regret not pushing the advantage they’d had when Reynolds last encountered the Pillar.
Now there’d be no stopping the crew of the SD Reynolds.
They were going to blaze a trail of ruin in space, leading all the way to Phraim-’Eh’s door.
Bethany Anne would be proud.
Reynolds laughed at that thought. His Queen wouldn’t need him to report what happened. She’d hear what went on long before Reynolds made it home to tell her about it.
“Come on, Maddox,” Reynolds said, waving the general on as he made his way toward the bridge doors. “We’ve got a cult to decimate.”
Chapter Two
With the SD Reynolds being positioned so it could either fire upon the Pillar or retreat with equal ease, Reynolds joined the crew in the hangar bay.
Jiya had gathered Geroux, San Roche, and Ka’nak, while Maddox accompanied Reynolds to the Pod. The first officer oversaw the preparation as bots loaded the ship and ran flight and safety checks.
“You sure you want to go down this light?” Jiya asked.
Reynolds nodded. “With the new transport systems, we can summon the cavalry and have reinforcements within seconds if we need them,” the AI answered. “No point going down en masse and causing a ruckus right off the bat.”
Takal and Xyxl had integrated the Gulg transport system with the personal translation and comm devices each of the crew had implanted under their skin. That allowed for the SD Reynolds to locate and teleport them with ease anywhere they went, as long as there wasn’t a powerful shield between the crew and the ship.
That made for almost instant access to the entire crew of the SD Reynolds anytime they were needed.
It almost meant they could be pulled out of harm’s way with minimal effort.
Reynolds ran a check on the system, happy to see they were up and fully operational as reported. Xyxl had made sure those operations were shored up before they left him and his people on Muultar. They’d reached out using their advanced communications in order to update their people and request another ship to take them home.
Takal and the alien had been in constant contact using the same system, which operated in the Etheric in order to keep them in touch regardless of the distance. This also allowed for the crew to remain in contact, regardless of any atmospheric disruptions that might otherwise hamper communication.
“Pod’s fully loaded,” Jiya reported.
Reynolds acknowledged with a nod.
Although he didn’t expect the Asparians to put much effort into examining their load, Reynolds thought it best to carry some sort of merchandise down to the planet in case they were searched.
He’d ordered the Pod packed with junk tech, bits and pieces of equipment that amounted to little more than scrap metal if it were examined closely.
Hidden within all the junk were cloaked suits of armor, firearms, and a variety of explosives, including grenades, as well as enough ammunition to take over a small planet.
While he knew from the video of Jora’nal that the security on Aspar was simplistic and let most everything through its checkpoint, Reynolds wanted to keep their visit low-key, so he’d had the crew dress down, carrying nothing more than a pistol each.
He didn’t want to raise the suspicions of the security force when they were made to dock at the station before continuing down to the planet. The less aggressive they looked, the less attention they’d generate.
Jiya climbed into the Pod and settled into the pilot’s seat. The rest of the crew followed her in and took their places, Reynolds bringing up the rear and sitting alongside Jiya in the co-pilot’s chair. The Pod’s hatch hummed shut with a reverberating thump. The engines ramped up, vibrating the ship.
Jiya glanced at him once the crew was strapped in.
“Let’s do this,” Reynolds told her.
Jiya nodded and lifted off, piloting the Pod out of the open hangar bay. Comm passed along a farewell as they left the craft, and the first officer aimed the ship toward the planet’s docking array.
As soon as they slipped into open space, the automated voice of the Asparian defense system sounded in their ears, directing them to where they needed to dock and what protocols to follow as they did so to avoid being fired upon.
“These guys don’t play around,” Jiya mentioned.
“Given the type of people they deal with regularly, I understand why,” Maddox told her. “Can’t be too trusting when all your visitors are criminals.”
“Yet they let anyone in with minimal examination.” Jiya laughed, amused by the contradiction.
“There has to be a pretense of authority and order,” Maddox said, “or the place will devolve into a total clusterfuck.”
“The truth is, it’s the criminals who maintain the security and peace around here,” Reynolds clarified. “The defense system is just a figurehead. A smokescreen for them all to hide behind, kind of an early warning system. If anyone is going to dish out any kind of Justice, it’ll be the residents of the city we’re headed to. The rest of this is just show to keep those unfamiliar with the rules in check.”
“Well, it’s impressive, regardless,” Jiya commented.
The crew went silent as she guided the Pod into the labyrinthine web of the massive dock that hung in orbit above Aspar. She followed the repeated instructions of the automated voice and landed the Pod in the large, open bay they’d been directed to.
She cycled down the engines after they landed, following orders to open the ship’s hatch and prov
ide the defense force access to their cargo and crew quarters.
The crew eased out of the Pod and were immediately confronted by a small force of armored soldiers. The blue and green of their suits stood out in the dull grey of the surrounding dock. They carried rifles, their barrels pointed at the deck, showing solid trigger discipline, just as they had in the earlier video the crew had watched as Jora’nal met with them.
One of the soldiers, the only one without a helmet, stepped forward, a sly smile stretching his lips.
“I’m Commander Dox Gorn, head of Security. State the purpose of your visit,” the officer ordered, his voice smooth and confident.
Reynolds examined the alien as he made to reply.
Dox’s skin was gray, reminding Reynolds of fresh cement. Darker circles surrounded the male’s eyes, appearing as more of a natural feature than any indication of tiredness or stress.
Brilliant orange eyes gleamed from within those darkened sockets, and Reynolds felt the full weight of his stare as he leveled it on the crew.
“We’re here to trade for parts and for a little R&R,” Reynolds answered, saying nothing about their real mission. “Mostly the R&R.” He chuckled.
Dox nodded. If he suspected Reynolds of lying, the AI couldn’t tell. The officer’s expression remained neutral, only that slight grin giving his face any sort of personality.
The commander glanced over his shoulder at a secure booth near the top of the hangar bay. A soldier there nodded, and Dox returned his gaze to the AI.
Reynolds knew they’d scanned the contents of their Pod while they stood there talking. The nod made it clear they hadn’t detected the hidden armor or weapons.
Dox’s smile widened. “Welcome to Aspar, traveler,” he said pleasantly. “Mind your manners during your stay, and have a great time. The automated systems will guide you down to the planet.” He motioned for the crew to return to the Pod and backed up to rejoin his soldiers without another word.
“Thank you,” Reynolds answered, and spun on his heel, returning to the Pod. The crew followed him in silence.
Once they were inside and the Pod was secure, Jiya dropped into her seat and turned to look at Reynolds.
