by James Peters
“When you say countermeasures, what does that mean?”
“Missiles with warheads capable of blasting us into atoms.”
I nodded. Most of what he said meant nothing to me, but I recognized that he saw it as dangerous. “Ah, countermeasures.”
Gorthul said, “Don’t fear, they won’t detect us before being deactivated. We’ll emerge in the system near its sun. They can’t monitor vectors directly toward a star as the radiation overwhelms their sensors. We approach the planet on a direct path, and I’ll activate stealth systems. We’ll use their natural moon…” The image changed to show the planet shrinking, and a moon appeared. “…to further hide from their scans. Once we are on the far side of that moon, we’ll deploy a probe. That probe will emit an EMP burst, temporarily blinding the nearest satellite. During that time, we will approach and dock with that satellite, and Dreydus will hack into their system.”
“Correct,” Dreydus said. “A loss of connection with a single satellite is uncommon but not unheard of. They’ll initiate a communication reset, and by the time they’re done, the system will be transmitting a replay loop of clear space to all the others. They’ll have no idea anything is wrong.”
Gorthul smiled an evil grin. “Then we land here, undetected at a natural crater a few miles from the site. We’ll be equipped with full breathing apparatus, so we can use gas canisters to dispatch our opposition. Dreydus will open the doors. We’ll march through and take out any stragglers or soldiers in gas masks, retrieve our package, and return to Panadara. Dreydus, what are our odds of success?”
“Overall mission success, ninety-two point seven six percent.”
“I’ll take those odds,” I said.
“Great. Now we need to refuel and restock our ship. If you don’t have breathing gear, you better get some. Meet back here in six hours.”
“Got it.” I turned to Rhuldan. “Any clue where we can get breathing gear?”
“There’s likely to be a vendor selling salvaged gear somewhere on this rock.”
I shrugged. “You do know I have zero credits, right?”
Rhuldan’s face faded. “I doubt a merchant would be willing to donate it to the cause.”
I sighed. “What are our options?”
“We can see if the grinkun might have something we can use. Since Fayye is funding this operation, she’s the most likely to help.”
“That will work. Fayye likes me.”
“You sure you don’t have a thing for her?”
I made a disgusted face. “Seriously? She’s not even human! She reminds me of a dog I used to have.”
“Interesting.”
“What’s interesting?”
“Nothing. Let’s see if your dog can set us up.”
Used grinkun breathing gear smelled of wet dog and bad breath, but, as I was told, it would be better than being knocked unconscious. We tested the equipment several times and, as I was getting hungry again, I packed a bag with several loaves of grinkun bread to take with me.
Rhuldan stuffed his gear into a cloth pack and pulled his cape and hat on. “Nearly six hours have passed. We need to head to the docking bay.”
“I’m ready,” I said and put my cape on as well. I took a few steps and my stomach roiled painfully. “Oh boy. I need to make a stop along the way.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ve got a gut full of angry pythons wanting out, pronto.”
“I’m just going to have to guess what that means. I’ll wait outside the sanitary station. Upwind. I may put on my breathing gear as well.”
“Funny. Just help me get there, and I’ll be fine in a few minutes.” I followed him as my cramps grew more painful, one step behind and just to his left. Finally, I saw the signs I was beginning to recognize. I found a proper facility, took a seat, and got to work.
I thought I was done several times before another rumble roiled through my stomach and started the process all over again. Rhuldan called out more than once, asking me if I was all right. Finally, I cleaned up, and the entire asteroid jerked to the side as if something serious had just happened. Alarms blared, creatures ran and yelled, too fast to understand. I rushed. “What happened?”
Rhuldan was much too calm for the situation. “Explosion.”
“What blew up?”
“I have no idea. Let’s get to the docking bay. We need to get out of here, now.” He trotted at a pace I could barely keep up with, and on several occasions, I bumped into unnamed critter scurrying to find safety. When we arrived at the bay door, Rhuldan stopped and cursed.
“What is it?”
“Look for yourself.”
I pulled my hood back enough to see the red light glowing at the top of door D496. “Red means dead, right?”
“It means the bay is open to space. There’s vacuum on the other side of that door. If we’re lucky, our new friends bugged out after the explosion.”
The floor vibrated as something heavy approached. Jekto bolted toward us like a horse running from lightning. “That was an explosion! Felt like a lektion fusion warhead.”
Rhuldan pointed toward the light. “This bay is open to vacuum.”
Jekto slammed a foot into the floor. “Then they’re dead.”
I saw movement in my periphery. “Guys, I hate to break this rendezvous up, but there are guards coming this way.”
“We should split up,” Rhuldan said. “Meet up together in a safe place.”
“Great, any ideas where?” I asked.
“I don’t think it’s safe to return to Fayye. Odds are, the guards are looking for her.”
“Let’s all meet up at bay B163,” I said.
“What’s there?” Rhuldan asked.
“The closest thing I have to friends.”
Chapter Eight
The Reserves
Istared at the door, reaching for the handle several times before resting my hand on it. This is it. Bay B163. What’s the worst I can expect? Ginn may be angry, and sure, things went a little sideways, but she’ll be understanding. I mean, it’s me, and she saved me once, so she must have some reason for it. Just remember to smile a lot, and it will be fine. Better just get it over with. I opened the door and eased my way inside when something grabbed my arm, pulling me in and throwing me backward. My head smacked against the wall. I saw stars in my blurred vision. Then I noticed the business end of what I assumed was a serious weapon in my face.
“Hands up high. Give me an excuse to wipe that stupid grin off your face with a blast of plasma,” Ginn said.
I threw up my hands. “Woah, Ginn, it’s me!”
“I know who you are.”
That thing looked deadly just by how she was holding it. “Then what’s with the gun in my face?”
Ginn raised one eyebrow just a touch. “Did you have anything to do with that explosion?”
“You know I wouldn’t have a clue how to do something like that, nor any reason.”
“That’s true, but you’ve just made things worse. The migrun are after you, and if they find you here, they’ll arrest me as well. So why should I let you live?”
“Now wait a second. Let’s just talk about this. Why would you want to kill me?”
Ginn’s face reddened. “You had one job! Hand over the shade to the migrun, and we’d get paid. What part of that didn’t you understand?”
I lowered my hands a little. “Do you remember the part where you said I’d get an image of doom when I approached him. Actually, I had just the opposite sensation. Like I could trust him.”
“So you ignored the plan because of a sensation? What if I have a feeling I should blast you?”
I looked her square in the eyes. “Let me ask you. Why did you save me, back on Earth?”
Ginn looked away from me. “A moment of weakness, or perhaps stupidity. Trust it won’t happen again.”
“I think there’s more to it. I think you saved me because I stayed and fought by your side when those men accused you of being a Skinw
alker.”
Ginn lowered her weapon. Now it pointed at my knees. “Those men were telling their version of the truth.”
“That didn’t give them a right to murder you in cold blood, without a trial. You knew where I stood on that hill, and you should have known I wouldn’t hand over Rhuldan unless I thought he was a threat.”
“That is your weakness, not mine,” Ginn said.
“I consider it a strength. Besides, they forced my hand by charging in too early. I wanted to talk to him and get his side of things first.”
“The migrun aren’t known for patience. Apparently, they were able to track the temporal diode and thought you were taking too long. In any case, we broke our deal with them which means they are going to want repayment.”
“Repayment? Don’t tell me they paid upfront.”
“I don’t take on jobs like that without collecting half upfront. I used that money to pay off the arenea.”
I shrugged. “Well, at least we don’t have to worry about the spiders coming after us.”
Ginn raised her weapon again, pointing it at my chest. “You don’t understand. The arenea are dangerous, but they respect trilatinum. They’re likely to give us an opportunity to make financial amends before feeding you to the Mother Spider. But the migrun are brutal, and they call the shots around here. Once they decide we’re a liability, we will be dead before we can react.”
“I’m not turning Rhuldan over to them. He’s only acted to protect himself when attacked. Why do they want him, anyway?”
Ginn turned her head toward the floor. “That’s not the type of question you ask the migrun.”
“I see. Could we refund their money, with a little bonus to say we’re sorry?”
“If we had the credits.”
“What if I had a job for us? One that would pay well enough to fix this problem?”
“That would have to be quite a job,” Ginn said. She turned her weapon toward the door as it opened.
Jekto stepped in, saw the weapon and raised four limbs into the air. “No need for that,” he said.
“And who are you?” Ginn asked.
“I’m Jekto. I’m with him.” He pointed toward me.
Ginn stared at me with a look indicating both anger and wonder. “Where did you get a dichelon?”
“It’s a long story. Maybe we should wait until Rhuldan gets here.”
“The shade is coming here!?”
“Yes.”
“This just keeps getting worse.” Ginn tapped her wrist twice. “Solondrex, grab a plasma rifle and get out here.”
I tried to diffuse the tension. “Let’s all relax. There’s no reason for weapons.”
Jekto looked at me and snorted. “You want me to bash her head good?”
“No. We’re all going to talk through this, peacefully.”
His hot breath caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand erect. “I don’t like talking.”
“Let me handle this. No head bashing.” The sound of the door handle turning drew my attention toward it. Fayye entered.
Ginn pointed the weapon toward Fayye. “Who are you and why are you here?”
“He sent for me.” She pointed to me.
“What? I didn’t send for you,” I said.
Fayye stepped toward me. “I received a note from one of our miners. It had this bay number on it and said to meet you here.”
“Actually, I sent that note,” Rhuldan said as he stepped in behind her. “I thought you might be a target for whoever blew up the docking bay.”
Ginn snapped her head toward Rhuldan. “What do you know about the explosion?”
“Nothing, other than it apparently killed our team, with the exception of Jekto here.”
Slowhand appeared from inside Sarge. He was carrying a rifle as well. “Who are all you people?”
“This is going to take some explaining. Can we sit and talk?” I said.
Ginn glared at Fayye. “I’ll talk, but she needs to turn off the pheromones.”
“Feral moans?” I asked.
“She’s dripping with them. She’s probably using them to control the minds of weaker species. Do they effect you, Idiom? Do you have an urge to please her?”
“No. I mean, I don’t know.”
Fayye smiled slightly. “I do not have complete control over my pheromones. At least not during this cycle. But I will attempt to tone them down.”
“Fine,” Ginn said. “Is this everyone, or should I be expecting a crystalline jaguar at the door?”
“This is everyone I know,” I said.
After Sarge tried to summon a non-existent security force to lock us all up, I told Ginn, Slowhand, and Sarge everything that had happened to me since I left them. They snickered, laughed, and acted like I was a complete idiot. Fayye explained the details of the job and assured them, if successful, we’d all be reimbursed enough to make our migrun troubles disappear. That is if we were able to complete the job, retrieve the element zero, deliver it to a safe location, and make it back here.
Ginn remained silent, contemplating everything we’d said. She rested an elbow on the table and leaned forward, placing her head against her hand as if in deep thought. She finally raised up and said, “I think the arenea hatching damaged your brain. Have you gone insane?”
Before I could reply, Slowhand said, “That would be a very short trip.”
I gave the sloth-cat a nasty look. “I’ve seen some crazy stuff lately, but as far as I can tell, I’m still in my right mind.”
Ginn stood, leaning with her hands on the table. “You want us, without the stealthy ship, and hacking robot, to infiltrate an armed migrun base, to steal back the element zero? That same ore they sent an advanced commando team to retrieve, with orders to kill anybody who got in their way? Then they took it to a facility equipped with automated defenses. You know we’re not a militia force, don’t you? We run supplies and take on the occasional odd job. Sure, sometimes the things we do might be on the migrun naughty list, but we’re not the crew you’re looking for. Sorry about your luck, Idiom. Considering how you and your shade friend here are wanted for an assault by the migrun, we just might be able to clear ourselves by turning you two over to them.”
“What?!” I shouted. “I fought at your side when those men tried to kill you!”
“And I repaid you by bringing you here and saving your life. That debt has been repaid in full,” Ginn said.
“And you don’t care that the migrun have the materials to build a weapon able to wipe out an entire world?”
“That’s not our concern.”
Fayye coughed slightly. “It actually is your concern. People ignore the grinkun, leaving us to our mining operations and assuming we’re too stupid to get involved with the political posturing aboard this asteroid. But we have connections, as well as an elite force of guards who are capable of swarming this docking bay and eliminating anyone who stands against me.”
Ginn slammed a fist on the table. I thought she was ready to attack. “I locked the bay door before we began this discussion! How do you expect your guards to get in here?”
“They had no trouble capturing a shade without incident. We have our ways of getting in and out of areas without detection,” Fayye said.
Rhuldan’s eyes glowed brightly. “She isn’t lying about the fact the grinkun overwhelmed us in an instant. They came from above, below, and behind us, all at once. However, I should add that I was following Idiom’s instructions not to kill them. If anyone here tries to turn me over to the migrun, I have no intention to be so compliant.”
A chill ran down my spine as the room fell silent. I wanted to say something to diffuse the tension, but nothing came to mind, so I held my hands out in front of me, palms down, and lowered them twice, hoping the action would universally mean “calm down.”
Ginn stood from the table, grabbed a glass of something, and sipped the liquid while facing away from us. She returned the drink to the countertop and turned back. “So, it
comes down to we die trying to do this stupid mission, or you have your guards kill us right here and now?”
Fayye said, “You assume this is a suicide mission, but I believe it has a reasonable chance of success, considering the intel I’ve collected. Besides, do you think I’d be joining you if I thought we’d all be killed?”
“What? Do you think you’re joining us? I don’t think so, sister! Your pheromones have already overtaxed the air scrubbers. I am not traveling with a walking hormone emitter!”
Fayye lifted her nose. “What other choices do you have?”
Ginn looked as if she were biting her lip and then turned away.
“Let’s say we’re successful. What are you offering us?” I asked.
Fayye stretched her back like a cat preening. “I have no interest in ruining my reputation with the migrun. We’ll make this look like a pirate operation, and once we’ve retrieved and returned the ore to a safe location, we’ll sell off enough to cover all your expenses and your debt to the migrun, plus a bonus. Say five thousand credits for each of you?”
Slowhand perked his ears up. This was the first time he seemed interested in the conversation. “Five thousand credits? Make it ten thousand, and I’m in.”
“If he’s getting ten, then I’m getting ten,” Ginn replied.
Fayye glanced in my direction. “Equal shares for equal risk,” I said.
“Same here,” Rhuldan said.
“See? I knew we’d be able to come to an agreement like professionals. It would be wise for us to launch soon.”
“Wait,” Ginn said, staring down Fayye. “That explosion. What do you know about it?”
Fayye talked through gritted teeth. “I certainly had no involvement, if that’s your question. I spent a lot of credits just to get them here. Those mercenaries had made a lot of enemies over the cycles. My best guess is someone recognized them or their ship and decided to take them out. I imagine the authorities were willing to pay well for that.”