| |
“Somewhere in the middle of nowhere.”
Shi’tra found this a fascinating term Humans liked to use. The Ravusq had their own variation: “a place in the void.” The Doolari, likewise, had theirs: “there in oblivion.” Not to be outdone, the Zathru also had a term for it: “in the something amid nothing.”
Shi’tra preferred the Human phrase. Which was probably why he got on with the Human members of his crew as well as he did.
The Ravusqan Raider was adrift, their gravity-well generator charged and ready. They were, if all went as planned, directly along their prey’s course.
“Thirty seconds,” Tvi’pra remarked.
Lori was at the controls for the gravity-well projector. If you turned it on too soon, automated systems on a ship in hyperspace would detect the gravity well and evade. Too late, and you missed the target.
There was an exact window of opportunity, which was not common knowledge. After much trial and error, Shi’tra and his crew, however, knew what to do.
Shi’tra double-checked their data. They should be in the right place at the right time.
“Five...four...three...two...one....” counted down Tvi’pra.
Lori activated the gravity-well generator.
Less than ten seconds later, a ship emerged out of hyperspace just before them.
“Hakk, get us in position,” Shi’tra ordered.
“Coming about,” Hakk said.
The air on the ship always felt oddly electrified when the gravity-well generator was on. Of course, it made the signature of the Ravusqan Raider akin to a small moon. That caused a hyperdrive to perform an emergency shut down, to prevent impacting with a planetary body.
Points in hyperspace were equal to points in real space. Thus, you couldn’t fly through planets in hyperspace—the same as in real space.
“Lined up,” Kaeri reported.
“Fire,” Shi’tra ordered.
The Ravusqan Raider fired on the engines of their prey. But the shot was precisely targeted to only disable them.
It took very little skill to blaze away at a ship and do damage, especially after they were yanked out of hyperspace. There was a brief period in that moment to strike—before your target’s sensors came back online. Generally, that meant you also had a brief time during which your prey couldn’t raise shields.
Shi’tra took pride in his crew and their sense of honor. They could be ferocious fighters but would choose to avoid killing if necessary. Disabling a ship—particularly in the middle of nowhere—meant it could be repaired.
Tvi’pra reached out to their prey. “Garim’s Game, this is the Ravusqan Raider. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way involves you opening the cargo bay and dropping half your cargo. The hard way involves us sending a boarding party and making a mess of your ship. We would really prefer, for both our sakes, the easy way. Please reply.”
“You haven’t used that one in a while,” remarked Gek Guv Geq.
Tvi’pra laughed lightly. “I do enjoy changing it up from time to time.”
A panel on the back of their prey opened. A missile was fired.
This was not the first time someone had tried this sort of thing. The crew was ready, and Kaeri opened fire as Hakk maneuvered to give her an optimum firing solution.
There was a flash outside the forward viewscreen, and the ship was rocked by the shockwave. But Kaeri had struck true and taken out the missile.
“Lousy back-shooter,” Kaeri remarked. She targeted the spot where the missile had come from and fired at it twice.
The shots impacted the hull of the Garim’s Game but did no damage.
Shi’tra knew Kaeri was simply making a point and wanted them scared to try something of that nature again.
“Garim’s Game,” Tvi’pra signaled once more. “We would really appreciate you not trying something that idiotic again. Now, one last time, open your cargo bay and drop half your cargo—or we can discuss your inhospitable reaction in person. Please reply—by radio, this time.”
Gek Guv Geq chuckled. “This is why you’re an excellent card player, Tvi’pra.”
The radio came to life. “Ravusqan Raider, we yield. But we really cannot drop half our cargo. We are in debt to the buyer we’re taking it to as it is. How about one-third?”
“Garim’s Game, you could have chosen to make this request before,” Tvi’pra replied. “But instead, you threw a lousy backshot at us. Half the cargo, please—and don’t delay further. We’re already in a lousy mood over here.”
They had been alerted to both the cargo and the crew from whom they were taking it by Ducaine. It was en route for purchase by Ducaine’s legitimate self, Amiran.
There were a couple of reasons why Ducaine stole xerz own cargo. First, to keep anyone from thinking Ducaine and Amiran were one and the same. Secondly, to teach necessary lessons.
Captain Garim had gotten too brash for his own good. Overpromising and underdelivering more than once had rubbed Amiran the wrong way. So, xez decided the profit Garim would make—while paying back his debt—was inconvenient.
Ducaine had contracted the Ravusqan Raider to take anywhere from one-third to one-half of Garim’s cargo. Xez had assured Shi’tra and crew that Garim and his two companions would not encourage boarders.
After another moment, the cargo bay doors at the bottom of Garim’s Game began to open.
“You have made an excellent choice,” Tvi’pra signaled. “Now keep in mind, we know exactly how much you have. Don’t cheat us—or we’ll be forced to damage your ship much worse. Thank you.”
Gek Guv Geq was chuckling again. “You have a wicked streak within you, Tvi’pra.”
Shi’tra watched her grin at the quartermaster.
“Lori, Tvi’pra, start scanning,” Shi’tra requested. “Gek Guv Geq, prep the twins to help you get our cargo aboard.”
“Aye,” Gek Guv Geq replied as he left the flight deck.
Lori and Tvi’pra were now looking past the Garim’s Game and into open space with long-range sensors. They would be fulfilling the request that came from the CSA through the crew of the Dawnstrider: look for any gatherings of the Ditufgne.
Shi’tra and crew, as the main contacts to the rest of the marauder community, were given additional information. The Ditufgne had a superweapon capable of sending a planet instantly across space and into a solar system in the void.
It was unthinkable. While the people of that world would be spared overall, many would still die in the transition. Moving a planet, even instantly, dealt with forces at a scale Shi’tra, for one, couldn’t fully comprehend.
A Human world had been banished to the void. Though a tunnel to the void was left behind by the weapon, communications had not yet been established. Xorcerizt and Human scientists believed it was only a matter of time before the disturbed forces settled down.
Shi’tra had firsthand experience with seeing a planet under attack. He had never wanted to witness that again. By conducting long-range sensor sweeps in between worlds, they had a chance of working out where the attack would be launched.
The weapon could only be destroyed immediately upon arriving - or after its deployment and the loss of another world. There was a working hypothesis that Ditufgne forward elements—detected early enough—might allow the IITA and their allies to deploy as much as they could.
The Ravusqan Raider had received a Multi-Phasic Universal Source Shield Generator from the Xorcerizts. Because they were not a part of the IITO, they could not get weapons.
Truth be told, Shi’tra had no interest in facing the Ditufgne again. But if he could help in any way to stop their incursion, he was all for that.
“They have completed dumping cargo,” Hakk reported, having taken over observing the short-range sensors. “Ten crates, as expected.”
“Excellent,” Shi’tra said. “Get us into position, Hakk, so we can get out of here.”
“On it,” Hakk said.
Lori and Tvi’pra were both running various sensor sweeps at long range. If there was anything out there, they would get a return signal.
“Nothing yet,” Lori said, as if reading Shi’tra’s mind.
“Lots of nothing,” Tvi’pra added.
Shi’tra said nothing. He checked the short-range sensors as Hakk maneuvered the Ravusqan Raider into position to get their cargo.
Shi’tra also was looking at Garim’s Game. They had already thrown a missile at them unexpectedly, and his ship would be vulnerable during the cargo pickup.
There was no evidence of any weapons systems other than a couple of point guns on the hull of the other ship. Even if they fired, those guns would not do enough damage to the Ravusqan Raider to disable them.
But Shi’tra would prefer to keep the transaction death-free.
The internal comm came to life. “We’re in position, Hakk, hold here,” said Gek Guv Geq.
Roy, Rhi, and Gek Guv Geq were in their spacesuits in the Ravusqan Raider’s hold. They would only leave the ship if they couldn’t pull in a container with the tractor beams.
Shi’tra switched to the cargo bay’s external camera. He watched as, three at a time, containers were pulled aboard. It was quick, meticulous work.
As the doors began to seal, Gek Guv Geq signaled, “Done. Let’s go.”
“Lori, Tvi’pra?” questioned Shi’tra.
“Sweep is almost complete—another minute,” Lori reported.
“Not that there’s anything at all out there,” added Tvi’pra.
“Let’s be sure before we jump out,” stated Shi’tra. Then, “Hakk, are you set to jump?”
“Yessir,” Hakk replied.
“Cargo is as expected,” reported Rhi. “All set here.”
“Sensor sweep complete,” Lori reported. “Nothing.”
“Confirmed,” added Tvi’pra. “Whole lot of nothing out there.”
“Better to know,” said Shi’tra. “Okay, Hakk, get us out of here.”
“All hands prepare to jump,” Hakk sent over the internal comms.
Shi’tra was relieved they didn’t find anything, but still concerned. How many worlds would the Ditufgne banish to the void in their vain attempt at revenge for a long-ago slight?
Shi’tra was glad that would not be his problem. Still, the Ditufgne incursion had impacted far too much of the life the crew of the Ravusqan Raider had chosen. If the threat of them was ended, could they return to life entirely as it had been before?