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The wheezing hauler careened around a corner and almost knocked over half-a-dozen raiders, some wearing Rakka security uniforms.
The would-be thieves jumped out of the way at the last moment, when it was evident Tran would run them down without remorse.
“Did you tell the AI to warm up the drives?” He shouted at his partner over the noise of badly aligned fans. “I don’t think they’re going to let go so we need to lift the moment this thing is in the hold.”
“Already taken care of,” she yelled back, peering down at him from her perch on top of the containers. “Good thing you had the calliopes out and ready. They’re going to be useful in a few minutes. Just try not to damage anything belonging to the spaceport. We might have to come back here some day.”
They emerged from the narrow alley and turned onto the main road, accelerating now that they had a straight run at the landing strip.
“I hope Tran remembers to brake before going up the ramp. Otherwise the hard stop against the forward bulkhead is going to hurt.”
Movement on the outskirts of Rakka caught Decker’s eye.
“Crap. They’re sending ground vehicles after us. I’ll bet they have some heavy barrels mounted on them too. If this goes the way I think it’ll go, Phoenix won’t be coming back here.”
“Just as long as we get away. I’ll warn the others.” Talyn’s head disappeared.
They crested the last rise before the tarmac and were gratified to see Phoenix’s belly ramp slowly dropping while the calliopes turned towards them ready to provide covering fire.
“Bad guys emerging from the needle ships,” Talyn shouted.
Before Decker could react, Kidder slewed the hauler around and slowed to a walking pace. The Marine jumped off and pointed his blaster at the newcomers, ready to cover their retreat.
The instant the truck and its cargo were safely inside Phoenix, he jogged up the rapidly retracting ramp.
He could feel the vibration of thrusters spooling up but had to check his impatience at getting to the bridge. They had to tie the hauler down properly; otherwise, any maneuvering might send it careening around the hold, causing untold damage, not least to the cargo itself.
When that was done to his satisfaction, he slapped the nearest intercom panel.
“Clear to lift.” Then he pointed at Kidder. “Take your friend to your cabin. Make sure you both assume the horizontal position. Same bunk, separate bunk, I don’t care. This might get funky real fast.”
“Wilco.” Tran nodded, then took Steiger by the arm and guided her down the passageway. Decker was already gone, the sound of his running feet echoing in the distance.
“Three technicals coming down the main drag,” Talyn announced when he strapped himself in. “Looks like someone bolted twin twenties on the bed of an ore skimmer.”
“I’m pretty sure I can peel those open like steamed crayfish,” he replied, studying the video feed.
“Those twenties can do us a lot of damage too.”
“Right.” He aimed the topside calliope at a spot a few hundred meters in front of the lead technical and fired a burst that ate up the rammed earth road.
“I hope they’ll take my suggestion to stay clear.”
The commo panel began to beep insistently. Decker checked the incoming message stack and started to laugh.
“What passes for a harbor master around here is ordering us to stay where we are and prepare to be boarded by the authorities. We’re detained on suspicion of causing the death of several sentient beings in the warehouse district.”
“You can’t accuse them of lacking a sense of humor,” Talyn said through clenched teeth. “Another minute or two and we’re off.”
“Not only did they not take my suggestion to heart, but the lead technical is also powering up his guns. At least the idiots from the needle ships are smart enough to back off. They know I can turn their tubs into salvage if they get cute. May I assume I’m now weapons-free, oh great commander and chef de mission?”
“Indulge yourself.”
The ship began to vibrate in earnest as the thrusters pushed against the tarmac.
“Indulging myself, aye.”
“We have liftoff,” Talyn announced, moments after Decker opened fire on the lead technical.
“And one flaming mess of wreckage blocking the road,” he replied. “Sadly, its crew perished at their posts.”
“You don’t sound sad.”
“Meh.” He shrugged. “The universe is full of stupid. I consider what I’ve just done to be a service to sentients everywhere.” A pause. “Oh no, you don’t.”
He fired again.
“More stupid?”
“For a very brief and inglorious moment. You’d think they would have taken the fate of their buddies as a warning. Thankfully, the third and last technical just turned tail. He must be the smart one of the bunch. Always put the smart one in the lead, folks, it saves lives.”
Decker chuckled.
“The harbor master is having a spastic fit. He says that if we ever try landing at Rakka again, he’ll have the ship seized and us shot. Good luck with that.”
“Passing ten thousand meters.”
“That puts us out of range of those twin twenties they seem to love. I’ve retracted the calliopes. We have a smooth-bottomed hull again.”
The AI chimed to get his attention and he cursed.
“It might not be for long. One of the needle ships just lifted. I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess they want to keep in touch with us.”
“How nice of them. I hope they remember that a stern chase isn’t in their favor.”
“Trying us on with twin twenties from two klicks didn’t turn out in their favor and yet...”
“Passing through twenty thousand. You made sure our guests know they need to stay in their bunks?”
“Yep. Steiger strikes me as an old hand, so no worries.”
“Okay.”
She touched her controls, firing the aft thrusters and the ship’s nose began angling upwards, to where the blue sky turned indigo and then black. Pressure increased on Zack’s shoulders until he thought he was going to become one with his chair. It eased when the artificial gravity generators kicked in, just before they began the slide into weightlessness.
“I’m going to assume we’re headed for Garonne, even if Tran has been cagey about the final destination of our cargo. We don’t have time to dicker, not with a reiver on our tail.”
“Two reivers. The second one lifted shortly after his buddy.” Decker held up his index and middle fingers.
“You’d think the weapons we’re carrying are made of precious metals, the way they’re sticking to us.”
“Maybe the Empire has been clamping down on the illegal weapons trade. They do make stuff that’s so straightforward and sturdy it can be used even by the dumbest semi-sentient numbskull, so it’s worth real money out here.”
“Maybe.” She released her seat restraints. “We’re going to have a long talk with Sera Steiger once we’re FTL.”
“She’ll likely want one with us as well. Those anti-ship missile launchers in the cargo hold aren’t exactly inconspicuous. Like I said, she strikes me as an old hand at the art of war.”
“And you’re burning to come clean with your old buddy Tran.”
“It’s inevitable. We don’t have to tell them exactly who we are. Steiger has me down for a merc anyway. For Tran, the story will simply be that I didn’t go back into the Corps but signed on with you instead.”
“Me being the wealthy, eccentric owner of Phoenix who has a bee in her bonnet about sailing the star lanes looking for trouble?”
“Sure. Sounds about right, bonnets and all.” His mouth twitched briefly. “Anyway, I’d like to show off some of our toys so we can use the extra manpower to help us sail and fight the ship. If we’re going where we think we’re going, things might get hairy.”
“Let me give it some thought,” she replied in a tone that brooked no arguments.
“You’re the boss,” he glanced at his console, “and boss, it’s time to do your astrogation duties. The first reiver just broke out of the atmosphere and is hot on our trail. I don’t mind another fight, but at some point we’ll need an ammo resupply, so if you want to hold off on that, we’d better run. I don’t think it’s a good idea for Tran and Steiger to witness us snuggling up to a Navy replenishment ship.”
“We can always feed them knock-out gas during the procedure, but I get your meaning, though we may not have a choice when it comes to fighting. The bastard’s acceleration curve is steeper than ours. He’s got a good chance of catching up before we can jump.”
The door to the bridge opened unexpectedly.
“Just so you know,” Steiger said, standing at the threshold, unwilling to enter the bridge without permission. “I wasn’t exactly planning on leaving Rakka.”
“Old hand?” Talyn muttered for Decker’s ears only. Then, more loudly, “We’re not going back, so if you left anything of sentimental value, your options are to forget about it or take a step through the airlock and hitchhike back.”
“Do us a favor, Miko,” Decker smiled briefly, “stay in the cabin with Tran. We’re not out of this yet. Passengers don’t get the run of the ship, let alone show up on the bridge without invitation, capisce?”
The mercenary raised her hands in surrender.
“Capisce, Ser Whate.”
“Bill, just to make sure,” Talyn said, “why don’t you accompany Sera Steiger back to her quarters and see that she and Ser Kidder enjoy the high life while we get this crapshoot into FTL?”
Zack sketched a salute.
“Consider it done.”
He took Steiger’s arm at the elbow and forced her to turn around.
“Don’t make this unpleasant, sweetheart. Captain Pasek doesn’t look like it, but she’s a titanium bitch if you don’t obey orders. It’s kept us alive up to now, and I’m not about to jinx things.”
“And of course, you go along with her.”
“Since we have two reiver needle ships on our ass, I’ve got more important things to do than flirt with you.”
They stopped in front of the cabin door, which opened at Decker’s touch. Kidder, sitting on a lower bunk, made a contrite grimace when he saw the Marine’s hard face.
“Keep your friend under wraps until we call the all-clear, okay, Tran. We don’t have time for distractions.”
“It would help if you locked us up, Ser Whate.”
“Done.” He shoved Steiger inside and then slapped the control panel. The door slid shut with a loud snick, locked into place until either Decker or Talyn released them.
“What is it with mercs and their attitude problems?” He muttered, jogging back the way he’d come.
“Time to go to Q-ship mode, Zack,” Talyn said when he re-entered the bridge. “They’re almost within range.”
“You want me to go all out?”
“Just try to keep them away until I can spool up the hyperdrives and jump out. No need for registered kills to boost your ego.”
“Bite my ego,” he replied, sliding into his seat. “How soon until we go FTL?”
“Will fifteen minutes strain your ammo reserves?”
“Make it ten and our shot lockers will stay a lot fuller.”
“Why do I think we’ll need to get cozy with a replenishment ship before this is out?”
“Because you’re a realist?”
He dialed in the targeting sensors and fired the first salvo.
“Maybe I should send out a call anyway. It’ll take a while to divert one of them.”
“In that case, find a spot for a rendezvous along the course I’ve plotted, send it in, and feel free to expend missiles at will.”
“Your command fulfills my wish.”
Phoenix vibrated with energy feedback when a reiver salvo splashed against her shields.
“Top marks for aim. Let’s see if they’re as good on close-in defense.”
Decker emptied both aft missile launchers, firing a full salvo from the guns for good measure.
The commo stack beeped for attention.
“We’re summoned to heave to and prepare to be boarded. Are these guys for real?”
“They’re only for real if they can enforce those orders,” Talyn replied, “otherwise, a fart in an ion storm would carry more weight.”
“Birds away and that took care of the aft launchers. Deploying all turrets.”
Another salvo lit up the shields with a blue-green aurora, and the AI bleeped a warning.
“Their close-in guns are firing but no dice.” Moments later, Decker whooped. “Hit. We got a damned hit. His bow shields just collapsed.”
The lead reiver, stitched by several hundred rounds from Phoenix’s main guns began to split apart in a shower of sparks and ejected gasses. Then, in a flash of escaping antimatter fuel, the disintegrating hull turned into a ball of rapidly expanding debris.
“Chock one up for my ego,” Decker snarled, retargeting his guns on the second reiver. “For what they’re about to receive...”
Broadside after broadside hammered at the marauder, plasma rounds streaming out until the AI warned Zack to slack off and spare the capacitors from premature burnout.
“Tell me we’re going to FTL soon. I’m...”
The second reiver, mortally wounded, exploded, giving birth to a minor nova.
Talyn touched the controls, and Decker felt his stomach shoot up through his throat. A fraction of a second later, the shock wave sped through empty space, Phoenix already far away, in her own bubble universe, crossing the void at many times the speed of light.
**
“It almost seems unfair,” Kidder said after watching a replay of the reivers’ destruction.
“As a wise man once said, if you’re in a fair fight you screwed up somewhere along the line.” Decker took a long pull at his bottle and sighed contentedly. “I’m glad we were able to give you a taste of what we can do and clean up a part of the Protectorate, be it ever so tiny, at the same time.”
“Your ship has impressive weaponry, Ser Whate, and I’m equally impressed that you’re carrying Shrehari ale of this vintage.” Steiger raised her drink in salute. “A man after my own tastes. And you said you didn’t provide entertainment, Captain Pasek. Consider me satisfied.”
“Glad to hear it,” Talyn replied with an ironic smile. “You realize that we’ll be tacking the cost of the expended munitions and the booze to your final bill, right? And we’ll need to discuss where you want us to take you, preferably now. I put us on a general course back to the Rim, but when we come out of FTL at the end of this jump, I’ll need a destination.”
Steiger and Kidder glanced at each other, and the latter nodded once.
“We need to meet up with others like me who bought merchandise in various places and hired ships to carry it before we head to our final destination,” Steiger said. “The plan is to travel in a convoy for mutual defense.”
“Your final destination is perilous?” Talyn asked with a raised eyebrow. “Depending on the risk, we may have to charge a danger premium.”
“Let’s just say some parties might try to prevent us from handing the merchandise over to its new owners. You’ll get paid what you’re owed once that’s done.”
“Glad to hear it. People who short us when it comes to payment, find their lives considerably shortened.” An evil grin briefly lit up Decker’s hard features. “Always keep that little video of the unlucky reivers in mind. It’ll help you make the right choices.”
“Our destination, Sera Steiger?” Talyn asked again.
“It’s in interstellar space, far from any of the usual star lanes.” The mercenary fished a data wafer from her breast pocket. “The coordinates are encoded. I’ll have to feed them to your AI myself.”
“What makes you think I’ll let you anywhere near my ship’s systems?”
“He who pays the piper calls the tune, Captain Pasek.” A grin to match Decker’s appeared. “And we’ll be paying you very handsomely indeed.”
“Touché.” Talyn inclined her head. “If you’ll follow me to the bridge, we’ll get this sorted out. Perhaps Ser Whate can tend to his ordnance in the meantime.”
“Sure.” Decker drained his bottle and tossed it in the recycler. “Tran, I could use another pair of arms down below.”
**
Later that evening, Decker was checking the forward missile launchers when he heard footsteps on the other side of the open hatch. He closed the panel that covered the manual controls and turned around.
“Not tired enough to rack out?”
“A good fight always gets me so revved up I’m restless for a while,” Miko Steiger replied. “You?”
“Same here,” he said, leaning against the smooth housing. She had a predatory gleam in her eyes that reminded him of a hungry Shrehari.
“Since Tran’s fast asleep, I figured I’d roam the ship for a while so I don’t disturb him.”
“And you ended up here,” his mouth curved into a smile, “figuring that I might be a kindred spirit in need of coming down from a combat high.”
“Sure.” She approached him until they were only a few centimeters apart. An exciting, earthy female scent tickled his nostrils. “The best thing to get nice and tired in our condition is a horizontal tango. Fighting makes me so horny I can barely stand it.”
When she reached down to touch him an equally predatory smile joined the gleam in her dark brown eyes.
“Are you and Pasek a thing?” She asked, closing the remaining distance between them. “Or do you play the field?”
“We’re just business associates.” He put his arms around her, cupping her buttocks in his large hands.
“Good. I wouldn’t want our good captain to get jealous, and I really have to scratch this itch now.” Steiger’s mouth closed on Decker’s.
**
“You might want to shower,” Talyn said when he entered their cabin. “I can smell the two of you from here. Was it fun at least?”
“It scratched an itch,” he replied, stripping off his clothes.
“Yours or hers?”
“Hers, mostly. On top of a launcher housing isn’t the most comfortable place.”
“But it is original.” She chuckled. “When was the last time you had sex that close to your beloved ordnance?”
He considered the question for a moment.
“It’s a first when it comes to missiles. I’ve had my fun inside a gun turret before, though.”
“I know. I was there.”
“That was you? Wow. You sure have changed.”
She threw a pillow at his head.
“Wash, mister. We have a busy day ahead tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir, Captain, sir.” He tossed off a mock salute, did a perfect about face, and stepped into the heads.
“Smart-ass.” Talyn smiled at his naked back and settled down into her bunk again. “At least she’s not a scratcher.”
