by James Peters
Rhuldan nodded. “Many races fear the sight of my kind as well. I’ll join him.”
I stroked my chin. “No. I need you to sneak around to the other side, in case they try something dirty.”
“What do you think they’ll try to do?” Rhuldan asked.
“I’d expect them to pull a slimy trick like putting guns in the high ground to cover the hand-off.”
“I can only look over one side of the valley,” Rhuldan said. “If Solondrex were to wake up, he’d be a help.”
“We can’t count on that. If you find a gunman on the hill, take him out and take his gun, then search the other side for another one. Do what you have to.”
“If someone threatens me, I’ll end their existence,” Rhuldan said.
Jekto grunted. “I like ending things too.”
I smiled at Jekto. “Only if they try to break the deal. If that happens, you’re free to rip an arm off. But it’s best to let them live, that way they’ll tell all their buddies not to mess with Jekto.”
Jekto mumbled, “I hope they try to break the deal.”
“Meantime, we need to hide Sarge,” I said.
Ginn turned her hands upward. “We have enough fuel to begin reaction, nothing more.”
“And that means?” I asked.
“We can’t fly Sarge anywhere,” she replied.
“Does he have wheels underneath that belly of his?” I asked. “I’d have to imagine ships like that need to move on the ground as well.”
“He does, but we don’t have a tug here.”
“Who needs a tug when you’ve got a dichelon?”
Even for Jekto, pulling Sarge was hard work. We connected heavy cables to tow hooks, and the big guy pulled with all his might while the rest of us pushed, moving about fifty feet before needing to rest. We repeated the process until we had the ship hidden under the thick canopy of yellow-barked trees with brown leaves larger than my head. We were lucky to find the grass native to this world was very resilient and straightened itself back up after just a few hours, hiding our path.
We placed what Ginn called a locator beacon in the valley where we wanted to meet, and Fayye contacted her privateers, telling them the frequency to search for. Jekto and I made a few more trips to empty storage pods while Ginn hunted for something large enough to feed us all. I didn’t ask if she transformed into the beast as part of her hunt. I ate the lizard-like creature she returned with after cooking my piece thoroughly over a small fire. It tasted nothing like chicken.
Fayye exited Sarge and said, “Contacts will be here in approximately eight hours.” She smiled and carried a tool in her hand. Parts of her face were covered in dirt. “They’re going to leave us a crate to carry the fuel for a few more credits.”
She went back inside, and out of the corner of my eye, Jekto kicked a rock and cursed. I shrugged and continued cleaning my Colts. Where was I going to get more ammo for these?
As expected, Fayye said she’d stay back with the ship and wait for us to do the work. Jekto glared at her, unblinking. He wagged a finger at her, and she shirked away and made herself busy.
I waved at him and mouthed, “Don’t worry about her.”
“If one credit is missing when we return, I will gouge my horn into her brain,” Jekto said.
Ginn said, “The locks require at least three of our four codes to open. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
We walked toward a deeply cut valley littered with an occasional sparkling silver boulders that would blind me when the sun hit them just right. Jekto and I took point as Ginn and Rhuldan followed many steps behind us.
Jekto glanced back. He spat on the trail. “I do not trust that grinkun.”
“Neither do I. Let’s just stick to the plan. If she pulls something, you can get the first crack at her.”
“If I take a crack at her, there will be nothing left for the rest of you.”
“I believe you,” I said. We continued on, until we were ready to get everyone in place. I touched Jekto’s lower arm. “Keep marching straight on, while I climb that hill and get in place. Keep everything under control.”
“I am master of my emotions. I am a warrior.”
“Yes, you are. Remember our first choice here is to make the trade. If they try to rob us, only then can you rip off an arm. Got it?”
“Yes.”
“Carry on. I’ll contact you via comms when I get in place.”
I noticed climbing the hill didn’t tire me out as much as I expected, and I found climbing a tall tree with lots of thick branches to be easy, as if I weighed about half as much as normal. I had a great view of the valley and Jekto carrying the coin. Knowing his height, I made some adjustments to my sights. Then I thought about the fact I’d be aiming downward, and I wasn’t sure about the wind. If I felt lighter than usual, what would that to do my rifle’s aim?
I called Jekto. “Set the crate of money on the ground and step back a good bit. I need to zero in my sights.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Just watch.” I aimed at the stash of money, held my breath, and found that calm moment before the storm. I squeezed the trigger. The bullet hit the ground short and to the right of where I’d aimed. I made a couple of adjustments to the rifle’s sights and took another shot. This one hit just inches short. I added a final tweak. “I’m good to go.”
Ginn’s voice rang in my ear. “What are you doing?”
“Had to adjust my sights. All set now. Do you need to do the same?”
“No. My rifle self-adjusts. Are you certain you can hit anything from that far away?”
“I’m confident. Have you found cover?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a clear view of the crate?”
“Perfectly clear,” Ginn responded.
“Good. Sit tight.” I pressed Rhuldan’s name on my arm. “How are you doing?”
“I’ve found a location that will provide a clear view of the hand-off.”
“Good. Stay hidden and listen for anybody approaching. If they are headed your way, they’re up to no good.”
“Just like us?” Rhuldan asked.
“We’re the good guys, remember?”
Rhuldan’s voice turned to a whisper, “I think I hear something. Going silent.”
I watched as what looked like a pair of giant yellow grasshoppers carry a large crate into the valley. Light reflected off their large, compound eyes, shifting from purple to orange. They stopped and made a bowing motion toward Jekto. He carried the crate of money toward them, and opened the lid. One of the grasshoppers pulled something from his belt, and I trained my rifle on his head, ready to take the shot.
The grasshopper pointed his device toward the case of money and motioned toward the other one to grab it. Jekto stepped forward, blocking their path. He then circled the crate and read a gauge mounted in the lid.
“Everything look good, Jekto?” I asked.
“It’s full.”
“Then let’s end this standoff. Grab the crate and walk away.”
The grasshoppers walked past Jekto and picked up their treasure and began their retreat. After getting clear, I watched them stop and turn back toward Jekto. “Something’s up!” I yelled out on the comms.
The crack of an energy weapon echoed from up high. I wanted to turn to look at the source, but I knew I needed to watch the two grasshoppers in the valley.
Rhuldan called on the comms. “Don’t let them move. They’ve got the crate rigged to explode.”
The bug on my side reached for something on his hip. I squeezed off my shot, the bullet ripped through his insect arm. The lower part of that limb fell to the ground.
Ginn fired as well, striking her target in the side. “What did you see, Rhuldan?”
“A lughelon was sneaking around on my side. He had a nice rail rifle equipped with an ultiscope, and a remote detonator on his belt. I snuck up behind him, grabbed his leg, and stopped his hearts. I trained his weapon on his counterp
art across the valley. When that one reached for his detonator, I put a hole through his main neural cortex.”
“Can I kill them?” Jekto asked.
“There’s been enough killing today,” I said. “Get their weapons and if they have detonators, get those as well.”
“But you said I could rip their arms off,” Jekto said.
I shrugged. “One arm.”
Jekto held the two giant grasshoppers by their throats as the rest of us climbed down the embankments. By the time I arrived, they both were hanging limply, gasping for air. Two insect arms had been separated from their respective bodies—the one I shot off and one he had ripped off in anger.
I slung my rifle and drew both pistols, pointing at the giant bugs. “Gentlemen, or should I say gentle insects. We had a deal. You could have taken a good bit of coin with you and gone back to you grasshopper homes and bug families safe and sound. However, you decided you wanted more, so you broke the deal.”
Jekto smiled a toothy grin. “You tell them, Idiom!”
Rhuldan added, “Don’t hold anything back.”
Ginn made a rolling motion with her hand as if telling me to go on.
My bravado grew, and I was feeling tough as horseshoe nails. “As I was saying, we don’t take kindly to folks who break deals, and we’re not the type of people you want to cross. Now, I’m going to give you an opportunity to apologize to us all and grovel for your lives. If, and I do mean if, I find your pleas heartfelt and remorseful, I might let you live.”
Ginn cleared her throat. “Nice speech. Too bad they can’t understand you.”
“What are you talking about? Everybody here understands each other.”
“These two are drones. They have no language skills or independent thought. Their queen gave them direct instructions, and they were to follow them. Had that container exploded, this entire valley would be a smoldering crater.”
I stared into Ginn’s eyes. “You mean they were on a suicide mission?”
“Yes.”
“Then they didn’t care about the money here. That would imply their queen had a bigger fish to fry.”
Ginn’s face contorted into a confused smirk. “You make no sense. Lughelon don’t eat fish.”
“It’s a figure of speech. I mean they had a bigger deal. Since Fayye made that deal with them, it certainly suggests she’s double-crossed us.”
“Can I kill these two?” Jekto asked.
“Ginn, what will happen when they get back to their queen?” I asked.
“They are damaged. They will be brought to her, and she will consume them.”
I glanced at Jekto, who had a slight grin on his big rhinoceros face. I said, “She can find her own damn food.”
Jekto slammed the two bug’s heads together, spraying slimy, mustard colored goo in the air. A big glob of it dripped from his golden horn.
Ginn handed him a small towel from her pocket.
“What?”
“Wipe your horn off. That’s disgusting.”
“I don’t see anything.”
“Trust me. It’s covered with guts.” Jekto just shrugged, so Ginn snatched the towel back, wiped off his horn, and flung the towel near the dead grasshoppers. “I’m going to see if I can detach the detonator from the crate. Their queen may have another remote.”
Rhuldan was inspecting his new rifle. It had a tiny opening, similar to his pistol. “Nice find,” I said.
“It’s a rail rifle. Deadly and accurate. You can shoot it sometime.”
“I’m looking forward to that.”
Ginn studied the crate. “Good news. All they did was to toss in a remotely controlled detonator.” She pulled out a device small enough to fit easily in her hand and walked toward Jekto. “How far can you throw this?”
“Let’s find out.” He threw the bomb further than I could throw a baseball. The device exploded like a stick of dynamite when it hit the ground.
We gathered up the credits, and began our trek back toward Sarge. At about the halfway point, Ginn startled and raised a hand. Everyone stopped and fell silent. A ship’s engine roared in the distance, and we saw it rising over the trees from Sarge’s direction.
Ginn’s eyes flared in a furious rage. “That bitch!”
Rhuldan peered through his rifle’s scope. “It’s a migrun runabout. Do you want me to take the shot?”
My mind raced. “No!”
And of course, Ginn said, “Yes.”
Rhuldan kept the ship in his sights. “I need an answer.”
I raced toward him and pushed his weapon off target. “Let them go.” We watched as the ship flew away, disappearing over the horizon.
Ginn grabbed my arm, her grip painful. “That was our one chance to stop that ship!”
“There’s been enough killing today. We don’t know exactly what happened until we get back to Sarge.”
“Fine,” Ginn said. None of us spoke the rest of the way back.
Chapter Seventeen
Double-Crossed
When we got back to Sarge, I wasn’t surprised Fayye had gone. Ginn ran to the storage hold to find pod 4A missing as well. This, too, didn’t surprise me. What did surprise me was how she slammed me against the bulkhead, knocking the wind out of me. She pointed her plasma rifle directly in my face.
“Calm down, Ginn,” I said.
Hatred brewed in her eyes. “Rhuldan had the shot. He could have brought them down.”
The sound of a charging rhino thundered through the ship. Jekto ran toward Ginn as if he would impale her.
I had to stop him. “Jekto, stand down and remain silent.” He grumbled and walked away. I looked directly at Ginn. “Now before you kill me, at least let me talk.”
“Your talking is what got us into this mess. We’d all be better off just to leave you here.”
“Don’t forget, I was the one to come up with the plan to meet the privateers. We’d all be dead had I not planned that out.”
“You got lucky, nothing more. The only reason we’re here is because of you anyway.”
“True, and we can argue all day long about what caused what to happen. But look at it this way: We didn’t want the dracnarians to have the element zero because they wanted to destroy everything. Fayye double-crossed us. I’d bet ten silver dollars she knew all along that the squid-heads had stolen the ore from the migrun, and she had no interest in getting it back to her cousins. She was looking for a payday and perhaps a diplomatic favor from the migrun.”
Ginn eased her grip on me just a little. “I don’t doubt this, but I don’t like being played the fool.”
Sometime during our conversation, Rhuldan had entered and stood behind me. “I’ve thought about this on the way back. It was the right call not to take the shot. That ship was a small runabout, without jump capabilities. That means there is a bigger ship out here, close by. Had I taken the shot, they would have annihilated the entire area with warheads from orbit. It’s for the best we let them have their prize and live to fight another day.”
Ginn let go of me. “I thought you didn’t want the migruns to have the element zero because they’ll use it as a weapon?”
I straightened my shirt and knocked some dust off my jacket. “Yes, but a weapon to fight small battles as compared to destroying everything. It’s the lesser of two evils.”
Ginn slung her gun over her shoulder. “How is it you’ve come here and caused everything to go crazy?”
“I wish I could explain, but I don’t have a clue. I’m hoping the dracnarian treasure we found is enough to cover our debts and make things straight.”
“All the costs you’ve caused are coming out of your share.”
“I know.”
“Something doesn’t make sense though. What caused the explosion in the docking bay back on Panadaras? I assumed it was the migrun, and they wanted to stop the team Fayye hired from taking back the ore. But if she was working with the migrun, it couldn’t have been them.”
I hadn’t thought of
that in some time. “We may never know. The way I figure it, those fellows made a lot of enemies over the years. Most likely, one caught up with them.”
Slowhand approached, shuffling at a snail’s pace. His fur was unkempt, and he yawned while one of his hands scratched his butt. “What did I miss?”
Trying to describe how Slowhand fixed the ship would be impossible because I couldn’t understand it myself. He explained that all he had to do was to touch the pieces he needed to merge together, twist their molecules along the Z axis, draw them together and then allow them to return to their normal orientation slowly. The way he described it, it was something along the line of eating or breathing to him. Watching it happen, it looked more like magic, as pieces of the ship would disappear from sight and then reappear perfectly repaired. He had to work in some sections from one of the transport pods to replace lost material as well. All I can say is his work was exquisitely smooth and somehow looked to be square. He also claimed the repair to be stronger than the original structure, and nobody had any reason to question him.
Once Slowhand had fixed the ship, he needed another nap, this one lasting several days. Rhuldan and I scouted for any sign of a giant grasshopper queen’s ship. We discovered signs of a landing on the other side of the valley, but the vessel had left. We hoped they’d cut their losses and learned a lesson not to mess with us, but we remained diligent and always covering our tracks.
I also got a chance to fire Rhuldan’s rail rifle, and I’m here to tell you these people have got it made. It automatically adjusted for wind, change of elevation, distance, atmosphere, and even learned to adapt if you had poor control when firing. If you put the crosshair on your target and pulled the trigger, even a complete greenhorn could hit a bullseye.
Once Slowhand woke up again, he was ready to work on Sarge the AI, not the ship. He found a section of connecting fibers had been severed, and several power units had been destroyed. I have to hand it to the furry fellow, he salvaged a power supply and connectors from a storage pod, and even though they were of drastically different designs, he merged them together to make a repair. We all waited in the Situation Room as Sarge restarted.