Unsanctioned Reprisal

by Eddie R. Hicks

  Needless to say, the technology onboard was an outlandish mixture of old and new gizmos that originated from across the galaxy, including some high tech stuff Earth’s ruling government, the UNE, would rather not see being used, such as the QEC jury-rigged into the ship’s communication equipment. Such a sight caused Special Agent Albert Moriston to shake his head and sigh dejectedly.

  I wonder if the artificial gravity generators were plundered from Earth ships too? he thought, while holstering his Radiance made magnetic pistol. The pistol was a far cry from his trusty PPM2-1, but had he brought that, people would start asking questions he’d rather they not ask.

  Like why personnel from Earth’s military were in the process of boarding a mercenary ship?

  Gunshots, roaring their thundering noises, echoed deep within the old ship. The sounds were clearly bullets fired from magnetic weapons just like he carried and manufactured by Radiance.

  Moriston stepped over the bodies of two Hashmedai mercenaries, their brains and blood pooling next to their fallen faces. He strode into the main corridor observing a bullet hole his pistol had made in the wall. It was a small dent with no exiting holes thanks to the low velocity setting he forced the pistol to use. Had it been set to its default setting; the Fortune Runner would be venting its atmosphere.

  Two more bangs went off as Moriston’s HNI downloaded a floor plan of the deck he was on. The superimposed hologram appeared in the top right corner of his vision, guiding him to a blue dot that neared him from around the corner.

  Turning the corner, he saw a large man clad in an EDF protect suit armor with a magnetic rifle in his hands and dead Hashmedai mercenaries resting against the wall smearing their blood across it.

  “Status report, Lieutenant,” Moriston said to him.

  The EDF lieutenant faced him. It was Antonio Cruz, better known as his EISS code name Durendal. He stood six feet five in height, towering over Moriston as he gave him a nod and sent revised data via HNI into Moriston’s implants. The crew was eliminated, with the exception of its captain and first officer. Their status within the holographic HNI report was listed as unknown.

  “Excellent,” Moriston said as his HNI sent an all clear message to the transport he and his team used to board the ship.

  A minute later, Moriston and Durendal were joined by a third party, Devorei, a young, by appearance, Aryile man. He was surrounded by floating holographic windows, his body decorated with punk rock tattoos, hair braided into dreadlocks, and one too many earrings pinned into his ears. Don’t get Moriston started on the piercings the Aryile had across his face, it made him cringe at the fact that aliens were adopting human fashion trends.

  With guns drawn, the three made their way to the captain’s cabin. There were two others from Moriston’s team that hadn’t checked in, the two sent to deal with the captain and first officer. Their vitals were green according to HNI scans, and their transponders reported they were still inside the cabin. It was all Moriston had to work with.

  Two gunshots went off, followed by the thumps of two bodies hitting the floor. Moriston checked the vitals scan of his team via his HNI. The window that appeared confirmed once again, their vitals were good.

  The three stood in front of the door as it opened. Two women dressed in tempting short, tight skirts and heels exited. Both women held smoking magnetic pistols, both were operatives sent ahead of the three to pose as hookers and lure the captain and first officer away from their posts.

  It was none other than Gemini-C and Gemini-S, Chloe and Sarah Vaughan respectively, originally EDF soldiers, now turned EISS black op operatives, like Durendal. Behind them were the captain and first officer, the contents of their heads painted the wall a gritty crimson.

  “What took you so long?” Moriston asked the two.

  Chloe, in a rage, chucked her high-heeled shoes down the hall, opting to stand barefoot on the cold rusty floor. “I fucking hate heels,” she roared.

  Her younger sister, Sarah, chuckled. “What she means to say is, she hates the plan.”

  Moriston rolled his eyes and proceeded to take his group to the bridge. “The mission? Or the fact you two had to act like hookers?”

  “Both . . .” Chloe grunted.

  “I brought armor for you,” Moriston said as they passed the transport docking bay, pointing at their transport. “Suit up fast; we’re pushing the next phase in five.”

  The two sisters strode to the transport. Moriston gave their asses a quick glance as they walked over. They’d be suited up and ready for combat soon, it was the last chance for him to sneak a look at their sexiness. Chloe kept her brown hair tied back and simple as possible. Sarah took advantage of their cover and allowed her dyed jet-black hair to run free over her shoulders and down her backless dress. And boy, did she have a back.

  The remaining three stormed onto the bridge littered with the corpses of dead Hashmedai and human mercenaries, decorated randomly with ruby oozing holes. Moriston eyed a computer station to the left directing Devorei’s attention to it.

  “My turn, I take it?” Devorei asked with a smile.

  Moriston nodded. “Quickly.”

  Devorei cracked his knuckles, running over to the station like an excited child in a candy store. “They’ll never know what happened.”

  The holo screens that orbited Devorei multiplied, each one displaying lines of computer code, illegal computer applications, progress download and upload bars. Holographic padlock icons were unlocked, and new screens appeared as his hands waved about, flipping through the holograms, and using his HNI to become a digital computer mage. Various bridge computers that were locked down activated, namely the helm which Durendal took a seat at. Moriston took the captain’s chair.

  The Fortune Runner’s engines activated, and the asteroid filled region of space they were adrift in appeared. Durendal, being the loyal operative he was, followed Moriston’s orders and set the Fortune Runner on a direct course to a large asteroid, turned into a mercenary base, with a shut hangar door.

  “Personnel at the merc base wants to know why we’ve changed course,” Devorei said.

  “Ignore them, just get those bay doors open,” Moriston spat, and grimaced at the notification his HNI sent him.

  They were running out of time.

  The Fortune Runner continued to fly toward the mercenary asteroid base. The hangar bay doors remained shut and grew larger in size as they neared.

  “Slow us down; I think I’m going to need more time,” Devorei said to Moriston, panicking.

  “You said you could hack into their computers, right?”

  “Yeah, but they’ve updated their OS—”

  “Can you get those doors open before we crash into them or not?”

  “I can, I just need more time—”

  “Get it done now, we can’t risk slowing down.” Moriston waved his hand and a projection of the system appeared showing Fortune Runner within the belt and a large asteroid half the size of a small moon in the distance. “That asteroid is blocking all scans from the inner planets in this system.”

  “Yeah, yeah I know,” Devorei said, returning to his HNI hacking duties. “This base and ship are invisible until we pass it.”

  “Then hurry the fuck up. We slow down, and that base will be visible again, and our unexpected boarding.”

  “You know if we crash into the doors we’ll probably die, right?”

  “These mercs got an alliance with a local pirate group; if they see something is up they’ll swarm in to investigate.” Moriston flicked the projection away, keeping his gaze on the view screen. “Our deaths will be a lot slower in their hands.” Not to mention the Fortune Runner isn’t fast, the pirates will chase. The transport we rode in on isn’t any better and has no shields.

  The distance between the asteroid base and the Fortune Runner closed. Durendal expressed concerns for what might come next. Moriston ignored his comments and reminded him how things worked. Moriston was an EISS agent running this op, Durendal
and the Gemini sisters were black ops operatives serving under him. He points, they shoot. And right now, he was pointing at the personnel within the base.

  The hangar bay doors became large enough on the view screen to encompass it all. They were still shut. Then they weren’t. Devorei delivered the results, forcing them to open, unveiling the idle mercenary ships inside and numerous unused airlocks that brought crew to and from the interior of the asteroid base.

  “There we go,” Durendal said, taking a deep breath.

  Durendal swung the Fortune Runner to link up with one of the airlocks, giving them access to the interior of the base, and their primary objective. Moriston stood up to leave the bridge with Durendal and Devorei behind him.

  “Gemini, take point, we’re moving out now,” Moriston transmitted over their secure HNI comm channel.

  “Confirmed, moving out,” Chloe replied.

  Shifting through a bunch of holographic windows, Devorei found the one that would allow him to hack and force the airlock doors to open, giving Chloe and Sarah, now wearing their EDF protect suits, access to the base. Magnetic rifles blazed, bullets flew, body parts ripped apart, blood gushed and splattered across the floors, walls, and ceilings. Not one mercenary managed to get a shot off.

  Durendal sprinted forward next as the three approached the airlock, assisting Chloe and Sarah with a room by room sweep of the base. Moriston and Devorei followed behind, stepping over the bodies, splashing their boots in the puddles of blood. Devorei cringed at the carnage. Moriston gave no fucks about it, and even took the time to aim his pistol at one mercenary that crawled on the floor with one arm having survived the attack.

  Two bullets entered the back of his skull, ejected from Moriston’s weapon. “No survivors understood?”

  Durendal nodded, having noticed two human mercenaries beg for mercy. “Yes, sir,” he said, and pulled the trigger, sending their bullet-ridden bodies spiraling backward in a mist of crimson and anger.

  The assault and the cries of pain came to a brief halt when they approached the door to the central computer core. It was locked down, and its staff was hiding inside. That was until Devorei hacked and forced it open. Their assault continued, splashing brains, blood, and body parts in every direction.

  Devorei moved forward, sat at the primary computer terminal, and reached into his backpack to acquire items from it. Moriston didn’t know, or care, what devices Devorei took out, just that he knew hackers like him made heavy use of hardware mods to enhance their hacking abilities. One particular device looked like an oversized data crystal. Devorei plugged the contraption into the side of his head and then went to work.

  “Is what we need in there?” Moriston asked Devorei, standing behind him.

  “Oh yes, and a lot more.”

  “I don’t care for the lot more; just get what we came for.”

  “Working on it.”

  “How long?”

  “Like two seconds?” Devorei said as he enlarged two holographic windows. “Okay done, want it via HNI?”

  Moriston held out his hand. “No, I need a hardcopy.”

  A smaller data crystal was inserted into Devorei’s wrist. After a three second delay, he unplugged it, handing it off to Moriston. “So, about my payment?”

  “I got it for you right here,” Moriston said, placing the barrel of his pistol to the back of Devorei’s head.

  Aryile brain matter and blood splashed across the computer. Devorei’s limp body fell over and his holograms instantly vanished.

  Moriston placed the data crystal in his pocket, and faced Chloe, who stood at the doorway, watching with a perplexed look on her face. “As I said before, no survivors.”

  It was time to go, and he ordered his team to make their escape. Chloe, however, remained standing at the doorway to the computer core, watching Devorei’s end intently. He grimaced at the sight. She was a black ops agent, not the heroine of Earth. Doing secret dirty work in the name of Earth was her life, not getting soft and emotional over what transpired.

  “Colonel, let’s move,” he shouted to Chloe as he kept his gaze forward, walking away with the rest. “Our window for escape is closing.” There was no answer, then, no Chloe as he turned around and saw she wasn’t standing at the doorway. “Where the fuck did she go?”

  Sarah and Durendal stopped, looking back with Moriston in regard to Chloe’s sudden disappearance. Sarah looked extremely concerned about what became of her sister. “Chloe? Let’s not fuck around with this,” Sarah said.

  Moriston’s HNI informed him that Gemini-C, Chloe, had disconnected from their network. “You two go on ahead,” Moriston said to Sarah and Durendal. “I’ll deal with her.”

  Moriston stormed back to the computer core where Chloe most likely had run to. He discreetly brandished his pistol once Sarah and Durendal left visual range.

  Disloyal operatives had no place in his grand plans for the UNE.

  A UNE where humanity would be given the rights and treatment it had been denied, thanks to aliens, in the complicated galaxy they all called home.

  The Splintered Galaxy.

  1 Foster

  Abandoned Shop

  Pictor, Jacobus, Kapteyn’s Star system

  October 13, 2118, 04:30 SST (Sol Standard Time)

  The city of Pictor was the largest human settlement on the planet Jacobus, was being the keyword. Pictor, like all cities on the planet, had been reduced to a desolate war-torn wasteland minutes after the Draconian horde and their bio-ships unleashed a scourge of dragons onto its surface. The remains of incinerated bodies blew in the winds, and the fires that broke out a month and a half ago continued to burn. The dragons that made it happen now claimed the skies as their domain of this super-earth world, while others patrolled around strange constructs being built by their humanoid-dragon workers.

  The mountainside complex Captain Rebecca Foster had been stationed at briefly, before getting her command back, could be seen in the distance. It served as a reminder to her as she gazed at it through the shattered window in the shop, how different things would have been had she remained at her post and not gone sightseeing.

  I probably wouldn’t be standing here now, she thought, and gave the battered city outside another look, pondering if this was the fate Earth, Aervounis, and Paryo were facing had they not been successful in repelling the Draconian fleet’s advancements.

  She took a bite of a chocolate bar, swiped from a box within the storage room of the shop. It’d been ages since she had one, almost seven decades if one were to include the years she spent oversleeping in cryo. The blue light from the mysterious tattoos that covered her hands, arms, and other parts of her body glowed. The most recent bite of the chocolate bar reminded her of their existence, and the reason why she and her crew made the unexpected detour back to this planet.

  Somewhere out there was the strange monolith that gave her the tattoos and its strange powers. Somewhere out there were the answers to the many questions she needed answered, before her mission to find the Draconian horde’s home continued. That and, Earth’s military needed the assistance of her crew. It wasn’t a request one could walk away from without repercussions.

  “Okay, let’s try this one,” Flight Lieutenant Dennis Chang’s voice transmitted over the comm channel from a wrist terminal.

  The sound of his voice took her away from the shattered window. She returned back into the darkened and cluttered aisles of the shop, stepping over overturned product display shelves with their items flung across the floor. Foster found her team mulling about next to a holographic music player.

  She brought four members of her crew with her, Doctor Travis Pierce, Commander Dominic Williams, Mil Tolukei, and Scholar Ary Odelea. Naturally, only Odelea and Pierce kept themselves busy. Pierce tapped new data into small holo screen that appeared above his wrist terminal. Odelea analyzed data she had floating next to her via holographic screens generated by her HNI.

  Chang was aboard the Johannes Kepler which remained
in orbit, evading detection from Draconian ships, as he remotely controlled the holographic music player, using it to play tunes from his playlist. One catchy song began to play, one Foster recognized from the days before the human race took to the stars. It was a song that came out long before she was born, early 1980s judging by the sounds of it.

  “This sounds familiar,” Odelea said, lifting her gaze away from the holo screens she had previously been buried in.

  “Whoa, wait, Odelea’s playing?” Chang’s voice transmitted.

  “I’m updating my observations in regarding to the Draconians,” Odelea said. “But remember, I did study the human race and its languages prior to Radiance’s first contact with your kind. That included music.”

  “Odelea isn’t from Earth or human, and she’s about to win this round,” Chang’s voice said. “Come on, Pierce and Williams, you can do this.”

  Williams shook his head as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. “No clue.”

  “Billie Jean,” Pierce added, lowering his wrist terminal’s holo screen from his sight.

  “By?”

  Pierce tried and failed to hide his smirk. “Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, come on, everyone knows this song.”

  “Everyone except Williams,” Chang transmitted.

  Foster joined the bunch, finishing her chocolate bar. “What in the hell y’all doin’?”

  “Trying not to fall asleep,” Williams grunted.

  “We’ve been here for thirty hours, Captain, we are all bored,” Chang transmitted.

  “We move out when the Marines tell us its safe,” Foster said. “Until then, we sit here and figure out what in the hell them dragons been up to.”

  “And there’s the problem, we know the Marines passed through this area, and uh, that’s it,” Chang said.

  “I’m ready to check that shit out,” Williams muttered, and pointed at a strange construct being built by the Draconians in the distance, visible from the shop’s ruined front entrance. “Isn’t that the real reason why we wasted a month and a half of our lives flying here?”