Ambushed
Zelia and Mekki headed back for Amity’s ship, only to find the Profiteer’s ramp was raised.
Zelia tapped her vox. ‘Er, Amity? Are you there? Captain?’
There was no response.
‘Little humans… all locked out…’ squawked a voice from nearby.
They turned to see a group of aliens emerging from the shadows of a neighbouring ship. Zelia swallowed, wanting to grab Mekki’s hand.
It was Korok, the Kroot who had stolen her omniscope. Now armed with a long, hooked staff, the yellow-skinned alien had recovered from Karter’s shot and this time wasn’t alone.
Another Kroot stood to its right, this one even taller, its height accentuated by the spiked mohican that ran the length of its scarred scalp. It was holding back a creature on a thick chain, a snarling monstrosity of a hound that looked like a cross between a Kroot and a wild dog, a mane of spines covering its back. Foam flecked the brute’s jaws, its yellow lips drawn back to reveal teeth that looked as though they could crunch through ceramite.
Then there was the goat-faced abhuman that Talen had insulted while he ate his lunch. The noodles were gone, replaced by a double-barrelled lasrifle. The Beastman snorted, nostrils flaring as he disengaged the weapon’s safety catch.
The gang was completed by a docker encased in one of the powerful exo-suits that had so fascinated Mekki on their arrival. Zelia realised that the suit was the same gold as Karter’s drone, strange glyphs running along its powerful arms.
‘That’s mine,’ Korok said, jabbing its finger at the omniscope, now safely stowed in Zelia’s bandolier.
‘No, it’s not,’ she said, hoping the alien couldn’t hear the quaver in her voice.
Korok snorted, and glanced up at the Profiteer. ‘Nice ship, too… Amity’s ship.’ Its scarred beak peeled back into a hideous smile. ‘My ship now.’
‘Leave us alone,’ Mekki said, sounding calmer than Zelia felt. ‘Captain Amity is with us.’
The gang of louts looked around. ‘Funny,’ scoffed the goat-man. ‘I don’t see her.’
Korok tapped its shoulder. The skin was blistered and raw. ‘Beam hurt. Now you hurt too.’
‘But that wasn’t us,’ Zelia argued, trying not to look at the Kroot hound that strained against its leash. ‘That was Karter.’
The Kroot’s spines bristled. ‘Karter’s my friend. You a stranger. That means you get hurt first.’
Zelia and Mekki did the only thing they could. They ran, ducking beneath the Profiteer.
‘Split up,’ Zelia yelled, peeling off to the left. Mekki darted to the right, as Korok shouted at its compatriot to release the hound.
Zelia didn’t look back. She didn’t have to. She could hear the savage barking as the beast bounded after her.
She ran towards a planet-hopper, not unlike her mother’s ship, with the same ladder leading up to its roof. She leapt for the bottom rung, hauling herself up. The hound leapt up after her, its snapping jaws narrowly missing her foot. She didn’t look down, the rust on the rungs cutting into her palms as she climbed. The beast barked furiously beneath her, but she was safe. There was no way the animal could climb after her.
A bolt of energy slammed into the hull beside her, nearly knocking her from the ladder. She glanced over her shoulder to see Korok and the goat-man running for the planet-hopper. Both were firing, the Kroot’s staff doubling as a gun. Las-fire strafed the side of the ship as Zelia threw herself onto the squat craft’s roof, ducking behind a large communication disc. The bolts sounded even louder as they slammed into her makeshift shield.
Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Mekki, hiding behind a stack of cargo pods. Not that it did him any good. The docker in the exo-suit lumbered up and took out the entire pile with a single swing of her armoured arms. Mekki scuttled away, the docker trudging after the Martian, before an energy bolt struck her right between the armoured shoulders. Sparks erupted from the back of the suit, the hydraulic limbs going stiff. With a cry, the docker tumbled forwards, her armour completely immobilised.
Korok and the Beastman spun around, firing back towards the Profiteer. The Kroot hound gave up on Zelia and charged towards Amity’s ship, barking wildly. It screeched to a halt as a silver ball dropped in front of it. The canister bounced once before rolling to the hound’s feet. The beast sniffed it and then yelped as the canister detonated, a pulse of brilliant white light washing over the hangar bay.
Zelia fell back on the top of the planet-hopper, unable to see. She rubbed furiously at her aching eyes as the sounds of beamer fire filled the bay. Zelia kept her head down, blinking until her vision returned. When she finally looked up, the hangar was ominously silent.
Zelia scrambled forwards, peering over the edge of the ship to see Korok lying in a heap on the floor. There was no sign of the Beastman, although the docker still lay immobile on her front, smoke curling up from the suit’s servos.
There was a sound like someone dragging a slab of meat, and Grunt emerged from beneath the Profiteer. The servitor was lugging the mohawked Kroot behind him. Without a word, the giant dropped the alien’s prone body next to Korok and turned to watch his mistress stroll towards them. Amity had her sword in one hand and her beamer in the other. Her usually immaculate hair fell around her shoulders and, even though she was breathing heavily, there was no mistaking the swagger in her step.
‘You can come down now,’ she called up to Zelia.
‘But that hound…’
‘Ran off with its tail between its legs.’
Zelia clambered down the ladder, joining Amity beside the unconscious Kroot.
‘Are they…?’ She didn’t want to finish the sentence.
‘You won’t have to worry about them any more,’ Amity said, slipping her beamer back into its holster. ‘Although you’re lucky we came back when we did. I always find it’s best to return fire if someone’s trying to atomise you.’
‘Zelia Lor does not carry weapons,’ Mekki informed the captain, emerging from his hiding place.
‘Then it’s a wonder Zelia Lor is still alive,’ Amity said, returning her sword to its scabbard. ‘Looks like we need a lesson in self-defence.’
She led them onto the Profiteer, taking them not to the flight deck, but the ship’s extensive armoury. The walls were covered in racks containing all kinds of weapons, from powerblades to vibro-lashes. Zelia felt a pang of regret when she realised how Talen’s eyes would have popped out on stalks if he could see all this. He should be here, with them.
‘Here,’ said Amity, plucking a silver canister from a case. It was the same as the device that had blinded the Kroot hound. ‘Stick this in your belt.’
Zelia hesitated and Amity rolled her eyes.
‘It’s just a flash grenade. Non-lethal, but you saw what it can do. Lots of light…’
‘Hence the name,’ Zelia said.
Amity nodded. ‘If you get into trouble, twist the canister to prime the flare and throw it to the ground.’
Zelia took the silver sphere gingerly, as if the device would explode at any moment, then slipped it into a spare pouch on her bandolier. Amity passed her two more. ‘Just make sure you close your eyes first.’
The captain turned to Mekki. ‘What about you, Tech-Head? Take your pick.’
The Martian strolled up and down the weapon bays, before retrieving a long, wand-like device. It had a power pack at one end and forked prongs at the other. Amity nodded in appreciation. ‘A shock-prod. Not a bad choice, although you’ll have to be up close and personal for it to work. Have neither of you really handled a weapon before?’
‘I have,’ Mekki said, drawing a shocked glance from Zelia.
‘When?’
He slipped the prod into a pocket on his backpack. ‘Long before I met your mother. When I esc–’ He paused, that nerve pulsing between his electoos again. ‘I mean, when I left Mars.’
Once again, Zelia realised how little she knew about the Martian, but this wasn’t the time for more questions.
Satisfied, Amity ushered them out of the armoury.
‘So, what happened with your Jokaero? I’m assuming that Karter didn’t want to return the merchandise.’
Zelia and Mekki followed her back to the bridge, Grunt lumbering behind.
‘No,’ Zelia admitted. ‘He said he bought him fair and square.’
‘And your ganger friend?’ Amity asked, fastening her hair in a ponytail as she strode onto the flight deck.
Zelia shook her head. ‘I’ve no idea where Talen is.’
The captain took a deep breath. ‘Then, I guess it’s down to me.’
‘What do you mean?’ Zelia asked, as Amity checked the charge on her beamer.
‘I still have business of my own to attend to, but after I’m done, I’ll swing by Karter’s. Maybe I can persuade him to change his mind.’
Amity returned the gun to her belt and recovered her hat from Grunt’s head.
‘Protect the children,’ she told the servitor. ‘Nothing bad happens to them. Do you understand?’
Grunt’s head jerked forwards in a rough approximation of a nod, and Amity slapped the servitor on its metal arm.
‘Excellent.’ She swept from the bridge, telling Zelia and Mekki to stay on the ship until she returned.
Once they were alone, Mekki started checking his wrist-screen.
‘What are you doing?’ Zelia asked.
‘Looking for mentions of thinking drones.’
‘Like Karter’s?’
Mekki nodded, although it soon became clear that his database contained nothing that could help. He moved to a nearby console, slipping his haptic implants into an access port, and consulted the ship’s own computer banks.
‘Anything?’ Zelia asked, but Mekki shook his head.
‘I am afraid not. Of course, any information on Abominable Intelligence would probably have been expunged from the records.’ The Martian’s face darkened. ‘I should have thought of that.’
Zelia couldn’t let him get maudlin. ‘We’ll just have to improvise.’ She turned to leave. ‘Come on. Karter must have left by now.’
The Martian hesitated.
‘What is it?’ Zelia asked.
‘The captain told us to stay on board the ship.’
‘She works for us,’ Zelia reminded him, ‘not the other way around.’
‘But the drone…’ Mekki said, as Zelia went to leave. ‘I still do not know how to deactivate it. Perhaps it is better if we leave it to Captain Amity.’
Zelia shook her head. ‘If Amity goes in guns blazing, there’s a chance that Fleapit could get hurt.’ Then she turned to Grunt. ‘Amity told you to protect us, right?’
The servitor nodded.
‘So that means that if we leave the ship, you have to come with us, yes?’
Again, Grunt nodded.
Zelia grinned at Mekki. ‘See? We have our very own bodyguard.’
Mekki rose from his seat, grabbing the shock-prod from his backpack. ‘Then what are we waiting for, Zelia Lor? We must rescue Flegan-Pala.’