by TR Cameron
Cia replied, “No biggie. I think we probably snuck in without being noticed. Time to put our passengers to work.” She tapped the control panel to her left, and a display Jax hadn’t seen before appeared. She pressed a fingertip against the largest virtual button, and a camera activated to show a wing pod opening. Within were four small drones hanging from hardpoints. She ejected two of them and told Trianna, “You have the second.”
“Yep. I’ll go low.”
Cia nodded and manipulated the panel’s controls to bring the drone she controlled to the top of the asteroid. He received his next surprise when it landed and deployed a trio of pitons attached to cables to secure it to the rock. He asked, “How in the world did you know to request that?”
She laughed. “I didn’t. These happened to be what my family had lying around. They’re used for mining surveys, so they often have to anchor themselves to things to gather data or samples. They have really good sensors for the same reason. We usually fire the drones into a system in a disposable missile and leave them there when their work is complete.” She flipped a switch, and the main display converted to a segmented view showing the take from the units. “Even better, the software that goes with them is smart enough to combine their feeds into a combined high-resolution representation.”
Jax shook his head. “I didn’t know the Reardens were involved in mining.”
She laughed. “You can assume we’re involved in everything, in one way or another. My father has become very good at playing the shell-company shell game to avoid obvious connections. Nothing illegal, just legitimate business strategies, he’d say.”
Trianna interrupted, “What the hell?”
Shapes were coming into clear resolution on the display. Jax leaned forward, having a hard time believing what he saw. “Is that what I think it is?”
Cia shook her head slowly, clearly feeling the same disbelief he was. “If you think it’s a bloody space station out in the middle of nowhere, then I’d say you’re right on the money.”
As the huge structure’s lines came into greater resolution, it became apparent that humans hadn’t built it. It had a flowing, organic shape that was unlike anything he’d ever seen. “Just so I’m not crazy, that’s not one of our space stations, is it? Or one of the Confederacy’s?”
Trianna, who had apparently forgotten she didn’t like talking to him for the moment at least, replied, “Not according to our databases. You don’t think this is the big secret Alien Coalition base, do you?”
He shook his head. “Everything we know about it says that should be much deeper in their territory. What are those things around it? Ships?” As the sensors continued to pull in information, they drew the outlines of various space vessels. They were far from uniform in size, and as the detail grew it became obvious they were more dissimilar than similar in all respects.
Cia growled, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She hit some buttons, and a third section appeared on the main display. It contained a search program that flicked through ship profiles at a dizzying speed and compared them to the information being fed by the sensors. Whenever a match occurred, that image flew up into a box of its own along the top row. By the time it was complete, the Occam’s Cleaver had identified seven vessels, probably a tenth of the total present. She nodded at the detail. “They’re pirates. Different clans, according to our database, although that frequently changes with ship captures, mergers, and those kinds of things. Still, I can’t imagine a single clan has this many ships that they can bring together like this. So what we’re looking at here is a bunch of pirates hanging out in the same spot for some reason.”
Jax shook his head. “Maybe this is a waypoint? Similar to the one we went to in that asteroid? Open to everyone, neutral territory?”
The pilot shrugged. “I’ve never heard of such a thing owned by the aliens, but it’s not an unreasonable thought. Let’s see if we can pick up some communication.” A static hiss filled the cabin, followed by some electronic squelching sounds. It eventually transformed into radio chatter as the computer found the frequencies, but only the ordinary conversation one would expect where ships were docking and undocking with the help of station traffic control. It sounded a lot like the last place they visited. Which means I’m probably correct.
Athena observed, “Or it’s a coincidence. It’s a little too early to make assumptions based on wishful thinking.”
Jax nodded. I stand corrected. “All right. Are we certain this is the place we’re looking for?” The display shifted to show the nanoparticle detector’s readings, and sure enough, the dots were clustered both in the station and on the surrounding ships. He sighed. “So, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but what we have here is a bunch of pirates, an alien base, and evidence that these two are somehow tied back to Arlox. Do I have it about right?”
Both pilots agreed that he did. Cia added, “Guess it’s a good thing we brought all that pirate stuff aboard, huh?”
Jax nodded. “Always better to have options. Let’s go tell the crew what’s up.”
Sirenno said, “So we get to be pirates again. Awesome. Arrrr.”
Groans and laughter came from the others gathered in the galley, but Jax didn’t join in. His concern about the level of danger he was exposing his people to had grown from the instant he’d realized the massive object was a space station. Reconnaissance from onboard the ship was one thing since they always had the option to run. Docking at the installation and leaving the Cleaver would sacrifice that relative safety. He warned, “This is going to be a lot more dangerous than I thought at the outset, folks. We need to decide if we’d be better off reporting back and waiting for reinforcements.”
Marshall replied, “This is too important to delay. I say we go.”
Cia countered, “Playing devil’s advocate, we’re talking about maybe three days before we can get support in place. Possibly less. Would that be too big a risk?”
Kimmel shrugged. “It sure seems like there are a lot of ships here. You would think if they were being brought together for a specific reason that they’d have to be nearing critical mass with this many. It’s unlikely they’d arrive early and hang out for fun.”
Verrand nodded. “Plus, there’s no way everybody here knows everyone else. Their security will have huge holes in it because of the number of ships and people involved. I don’t think it’s that big a deal.”
Trianna shrugged. “I always get to stay with the ship, so I’m not part of this decision. But if things go wrong and we have to blast our way out of the place, I’m totally down for that.” She grinned at the idea. “I have your backs.”
Jax said, “I hear all positives. So, what’s the play?”
Cia replied, “The Occam’s Cleaver is now an unaffiliated pirate ship. There’s some junk in the back we can claim to have stolen, loose odds and ends that were gathering dust in one of the family warehouses. So we’re visiting the station to try to sell it, or to barter the stuff for fuel and supplies.”
He nodded. “We’ll have to do some basic disguises in case our images are out there for whatever reason. The Academy set us up with identities for every occasion, so we’re set there. Ethan and Athena can see about either inserting the records into the station’s systems ahead of time or making sure when the request goes out that we intercept it.”
Kimmel replied, “More likely the second one. Their internal setup is probably going to be fairly weird since it’s an alien construct and all.”
Athena’s voice came out of the speaker in Jax’s wrist comm. “We have to assume they have a network in place for the humans that visit the station, as well. It ought to give us a starting point to penetrate their systems.”
Jax shrugged. “Either way, then. Let’s get suited up.”
Jax stood in front of the mirror in his quarters and considered the person reflected at him. He had returned to some tried-and-true tricks from his Special Forces incursion days to add a false scar that ran from above his left
eye down to the cheek on that side. It noticeably pulled the surrounding skin and drew his lip up a little, causing him to speak with a slight slur. He’d added a prosthetic insert in his mouth to prevent excessive motion that might snap the scar out of place, further changing his speaking style. He’d considered shaving his head but instead settled for a quick dye job to turn his naturally dark hair blonde, shot through with grey. On the whole, he looked about ten years older and ten times meaner.
He’d dug through the clothing options they’d brought along until he’d discovered some simple patched black trousers, a heavy gun belt with holsters on either side and a dingy gray button-down shirt. A faded black vest went over it all, and when he buttoned it up, he resembled something out of an old West picture book. The pistols were Academy issue but made to look like older tech. The one at his left was energy, the one on his right, projectile. Small pouches around the belt held spare magazines and power cells. He had a blade hidden in one heel of his worn boots and a small explosive charge in the other in case they were forced to give up their weapons.
He shook his head again at the audacity of what they were about to try. Pulling off an operation like this at a human space station was one thing. Trying it in an alien facility was something else entirely. They knew nothing about what they were getting into. Still, his team was right, and in truth, he completely agreed with them. Events were moving too fast for any further delay. It was time to put the train that would eventually run over Arlox and anyone who supported him in motion.
He smiled at the man in the mirror. “Damn, you are good looking.”
Athena snorted. “Narcissistic much?”
He laughed. “Tradition. I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t pay my new self a compliment before we got started.”
“Does that mean you’re finally done primping and preening?”
He nodded and tapped his comm. “Cia, I’m ready.”
“You’re the last to check in. We’re good to go.”
“Excellent. Let’s do this thing.”
Chapter Fourteen
Jax spent the approach to the station in the pilot’s compartment, unable to tear himself away from the possibility of receiving an early warning of trouble. Cia initiated contact. “This is the independent vessel Occam’s Cleaver, requesting clearance and docking assignment.”
There was a pause, long enough that he worried they’d missed some important protocol, before a computerized voice responded, “Occam’s Cleaver, you’re cleared for berth seventy-two A. Navigation instructions follow. Do not deviate from your assigned path or you’ll be destroyed. There will be no further warning.” A series of coordinates followed, and Cia tapped the screen to add them to the display as an overlay on their view of the system. It showed a looping arc that led around to the far side of the station, one that would keep them in transit for at least an hour and offer whoever was on the other side plenty of time to investigate them. Probably deliberate. It’s what I would do.
The pilot replied, “Acknowledged. Cleaver out.” She looked back over her shoulder at him. “Fairly inviting bunch, really.”
He nodded. “Except for the whole ‘do what I say or else you die’ thing.”
She shrugged. “Pretty standard practice. After all, you can’t trust pirates.”
The slow trip in was tense but ultimately uneventful. As they rounded the far side of the station, the docking area appeared on the display. It was external to the installation’s main body, a series of projections jutting out into space. Ships were attached to them like tines on a comb. Their tail ends, where cargo access was almost universally located, faced the station’s projection. Some kind of shroud covered the docked vessels. The berths were mostly occupied, causing Jax to revise his estimate of the number of ships in the system. “There must be well over a hundred here.”
Cia remarked, “I’m with Kimmel. This is a group getting ready to make a move.”
Trianna nodded. “I agree.”
Athena interjected, “Before you say it, she didn’t talk to you. She still dislikes you as much as the rest of us do.”
You’re not a nice person. You know that? He bantered a little more with the AI on the way in, but when the shudder of connection ran through the ship as they locked onto the station, any opportunity for delay was gone. He said, with some reluctance, “Guess we better get out there.”
Cia replied in a similar tone, “Guess so.” She looked at Trianna. “You take care of my girl.”
The copilot nodded. “As if she were my baby.”
Jax didn’t like the concern on Cia’s face, one that he also felt all too keenly. He managed a smile. “It’ll be fine. Let’s go do what you’re best at: cause some trouble.” Once they reached the cargo bay and joined the rest of the crew, they all watched on an external camera as a sleeve extended from the dock and stretched out to completely encapsulate the Cleaver. It quickly pressurized to permit them to exit the ship without suits or the need for an airlock.
Kimmel asked, “Do you think they do that even with the biggest ships? That’s pretty crazy.”
Cia shrugged. “I haven’t seen it before, but it certainly makes sense. If it’s some tough, flexible material on a roll, it seems like it wouldn’t be that hard to do. Basically a giant sleeve and a zipper to connect the halves. Probably pulled into place by tiny drones or something.”
Jax plowed the side of his fist into the big button that released the cargo bay door, and it slowly lowered to the deck. “Trianna, seal it up when we’re gone. No one gets on for any reason without Cia’s approval.”
The pilot raised an eyebrow. “Couldn’t have said it better myself.”
Jax amended, “Or my approval. In case someone’s deciding to be a problem, as usual.”
Cia slapped him on the arm, and they headed out into the facility in a wash of light laughter. The initial view was boringly uniform. The metal walkway that connected the ship to the dock took a right-hand turn and became a metal floor that ran from there to the main station. A conveyor ran down the middle to transport cargo, with pedestrians required to walk along the edges. Marshall suggested, “Bet we could shorten our time by jumping on there and taking a ride.”
Jax sighed. “Let’s try not to cause trouble right off the bat, okay? I would have expected that from C, but not from you.”
Verrand offered, “We’re pirates. We do what we want.”
Jax shook his head. “We’re guests. How about we avoid ticking off our hosts?”
She scowled. “You’re no fun at all.”
He shrugged. “So I’ve been told.” They passed other humans walking in the opposite direction, presumably returning to their ships’ berths. The scale of the installation was immense, far more extensive than it had seemed from the outside. He shook his head. “I can’t believe this place is hanging out here in the middle of nowhere. It’s really impressive.”
Athena warned, “As expected, audio and video surveillance is present in the corridor, and presumably throughout the facility. I found the human network and negotiated outer layer access, but Kimmel is correct about the main system architecture being foreign to my experience. It would be far too risky to attempt to intrude upon it.”
More or less what we expected. How much can you get out of the human network?
“Basic information, station layout, that sort of thing. Nothing that will lead us directly to any of our objectives.”
Damn. Okay. Let’s do what normal pirates would do, then, and head toward wherever the main center of commerce is on this thing. After all, we have loot to sell, supplies to buy, and hopefully food to eat.
The map Athena accessed listed several areas on the station that could qualify as primary commercial zones. He chose the one nearest to their entry point, figuring it was logical to have humans dock closest to human amenities and have aliens do the same. While he was deeply curious about what species had constructed the installation, he felt no pressing need to run into any of them. Hopefully, they’d
get a sense of the beings behind it before they departed, but he wasn’t going to put his people in a situation where they might unwittingly cross a behavioral line they didn’t have the understanding to see in the first place.
The commercial area occupied a portion of the station’s main structure, which Athena’s schematics suggested was a stack of circular levels rising from the bottom of the station to the top. The one on this level featured a two-story ceiling with ample lighting above and a series of lanes large enough for four people walking side by side that ran between small stands. It looked more like a temporary bazaar than a space housing permanent shops. The presence of various pirate clan symbols and rickety-looking tables with wares spread out across them supported that interpretation.
The pathways ran on a diagonal toward the middle, with concentric rings at intervals that created strangely shaped blocks. He led the team idly through them and announced, “Food first. Shopping later. Maybe we’ll find some eats near the core.” It made sense that if any enduring shop existed in the area, it would be a restaurant, or dare he hope, a bar. When they reached the end of the lane, it revealed a much larger section than he’d anticipated. Seats were scattered in the center in clusters, two here, eight there, and singles all around, arranged seemingly at random. The tables themselves weren’t uniform either. Some were round, some square, some rectangular, and one was a strange trapezoid. He said to Cia, “Maybe you should see if you could get that one for the Cleaver. Might make a nice card table.”
She shook her head. “I’m comfortable with what we’ve got, thanks. Besides, you know we don’t like to talk about your gambling problem.” She whispered the last words as loudly as she could, then her voice returned to normal. “What’s that smell?”
