Revengers

by Alex Kings

  “He's in this fight with us. You're going to have to trust him eventually.”

  “Yes, but not today. We'll take Laodicean with us, and Mero can stay on the Outsider. We might need his skills in the cockpit.”

  “So, this is it, huh?” Eloise said darkly. “We're at the point where it's Mero we trust most to look after the Outsider.”

  She laughed, and a moment later, Rurthk did too.

  Their comms chimed simultaneously.

  It was Mero. “I think we've found our scientists, Cap.”

  *

  Rurthk met Dr. Wolff on the way to the observation lounge. “Any luck with your messages?” he said.

  “Nothing so far,” said Wolff.

  “Remember, one hour. We can't afford to wait longer than that.”

  They entered the observation lounge, where Mero, Olivia and Laodicean were waiting.

  “What have you got?” Rurthk asked.

  “Our pet policeman found it first,” said Mero, nodding to Laodicean.

  “Comms traffic pointed to a new arrival recently. Very secretive, operating under the name Soul,” said Laodicean.

  “They're branching out,” observed Rurthk.

  “All signs point to the provision for a group of humans. I couldn't decrypt its messages. Once I had found it, I needed confirmation.”

  “And that's where we stepped in,” said Mero. “It's just given off the same comms signature Yilva gave us.”

  “So, where are they?”

  “It goes by the thrilling name of Bloodspray Object One,” said Mero, putting a tablet on table and extending it. “Biggest asteroid in the belt. About a thousand kilometres across.” He called up an image. It had once been spherical but great divots going halfway to the core had been carved out of its surface. Tangles of cheap habitation structures grew on its surface like fungus. “Here,” said Mero, pointing to one of the mining-scarred areas.

  “It's quite distant,” said Laodicean. “About an eighth of the way around the belt.”

  “Good,” said Rurthk. “Less chance of them seeing us here, then. We'll take the stealth shuttle. How long will that take?”

  Mero gestured at the tablet to call up an acceleration calculator, but Laodicean answered first: “Forty-three minutes.”

  “That should give Singer time to reply,” said Rurthk. “Doctor, call us if you receive a message.”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  “Now let's get moving.”

  *

  The screen leapt into life. A Petaur going by the name of Mr. Soul appeared on it.

  “Zino,” he said. “We've been checking recent arrivals. Here's something you should see.” His face was replaced by a blurred image taken from a long distant telescope.

  Zino leaned forward in his chair and peered at the ramshackle vessel. “Well, would you look at that,” he said. “My old friend, Captain Rurthk, back again. It'll be a pleasure to kill you at last.” He looked up at Mr. Soul. “You weren't expecting this, were you?”

  Mr. Soul didn't answer the question, giving away the answer. “Deal with it,” was all he said. “They should arrive very soon.”

  “Okay,” said Zino. “I suggest we move the scientists. I'll intercept Rurthk and his crew.”

  “Do it,” said Mr. Soul, and vanished

  “Whatever you say, boss,” muttered Zino at the dead screen. He swung round to the team of mercenaries behind him. “Get your weapons. We're heading out!”

  Chapter 32: Breaking In

  Rurthk sat in the shuttle's cockpit beside Eloise. Laodicean and Olivia remained in the background behind them. Everyone was wearing body armour, which in Laodicean's case was a strengthened effector field around his globe and a woven graphene sheath around his shell.

  Mero had been sore at not getting a chance to pilot the shuttle, but Rurthk had promised him he'd have an opportunity later.

  They were nearing Object One. Rurthk called up an image from the telescope, showing the scarred, gutted planetoid. Beside him, Eloise was studying maps of the surface structures and warren beneath the surface, and comparing them to the origin of the signal.

  “I suspect they're being held either here, here, or here,” she said. “It's hard to tell until we get closer. In each case, I think we've got an entry point.”

  There was no tome for messing about with berths, Rurthk knew. They'd have to land the shuttle as close as they cut, cut a hole through the structure – and then, if necessary, cut a few more to get to the scientists.

  “Captain, you should see this,” said Laodicean. With his neural link, he replayed part of the telescope feed, zoomed in. Something detached from the habitation structures and moved across the planetoid's surface.

  “What is it?” said Rurthk.

  “According to the internal traffic systems, a ship. It is just about large enough to hold the scientists.”

  “They're moving them,” said Rurthk.

  “Yes?”

  “Where?”

  “They aren't moving off Object One,” said Laodicean. “According to the official logs, the destination is here.” He displayed a section of the map. “Its trajectory confirms that, but I will follow it in case it changes course.”

  “This might just be part of normal operations,” said Olivia. “But if it's not, if they know we're here, why are they doing it openly?”

  “They may not know we have access to this shuttle,” said Laodicean. “The ship they are using would be invisible from the Outsider – too distant and hidden behind a ridge.”

  “They we still have a chance to surprise them,” said Rurthk. “Track that ship. We'll go after it when it lands.”

  *

  The stealth shuttle decelerated at a fierce rate as it approached Object One. Aboard, Laodicean reported that the ship had stopped where expected, and immediately Eloise started working on maps of the area.

  “Used to be a mining equipment centre area,” she said. “It got divided into apartments at some point, but looks like the last people living here cleared out a while ago. The trouble is, most of these old apartments are large enough to fit the scientists.”

  “We'll start in the closest room where the ship docked and go from there,” Rurthk said.

  “Here are the co-ordinates.”

  Object One was at last visible through the windows. It grew steadily as the shuttle decelerated. Rurthk pulled them into a curve around the planetoid's surface towards the co-ordinates Eloise had given him. The scars, hundreds of kilometres wide, hundreds of kilometres deep, grew to immense size around them, becoming a red-lit desert of melted and shattered regolith. The habitat structures clung to the surface, giving access to the warrens below.

  On the final approach, the giant canyon around them hid everything else. Rurthk slowed the shuttle, watching the weapons, and finally brought it to rest atop a habitat structure. He had to admit it handled beautifully – they landed as softly as a feather.

  As soon as they did, he activated the magnetic clamps. Eloise grabbed a rifle and a plasma blade. Laodicean picked up another in his effector fields, adding to the aquatic gun inside his globe. Olivia took out her handgun.

  The shuttle formed an airtight seal with the structure below it, then extended its own blade to cut through the metal with a soft whine. While it was working, Rurthk checked the explosives he was carrying, then readied his own rifle.

  The whine stopped. Rurthk readied his rifle, and Eloise pulled open the hatch on the bottom of the shuttle. It opened, carrying a circle of cut-away metal with it. Rurthk looked down onto the room below.

  It was dark and silent. He checked to make sure he couldn't see or hear any movement, then looked up at Laodicean.

  Laodicean had suggested he go first when they were planning the mission. He could see in all directions at once, and with his effector fields, he would have no troubles retreating into the shuttle if he ran into trouble. Rurthk had happily agreed.

  Laodicean positioned his globe of water over the hole and low
ered it and himself through the hole. The faint red glow of his effector fields lit up the room below.

  “Clear,” he said, and moved aside. Eloise jumped through next. Rurthk helped Olivia down, then followed.

  They were in one of the apartments. There were a few sideboards, a few open fittings in the walls that had no devices attached to them. Bits of rubbish was strewn about on the floor: damaged boxes, crumpled cartons for food and drink, some old cryogenic piping, and various bits of smart matter that had, with their control systems long dead, contracted into amorphous blobs like plastic slugs. Everything of value had long ago been taken.

  Rurthk led them through the apartment and into the corridor. “We'll check the ship first,” he said. “Come on.”

  Doors to various apartments lined the corridor. None of them were function. Most had been jammed open or half-open. Some had been removed entirely. A couple of the lights above were still functional. Elsewhere, there were lamps in the corners. Rurthk and his team reached the end of the corridor where an open airlock led into the ship. He steadied his rifle and headed inside.

  *

  Zino stood in one of the dark apartments, his rifle clutched in his hands, barely moving. He listened intently.

  “We have them,” a voice said through his comms. “They've just disembarked and are heading for the ship. They've taken the bait.”

  Zino smiled broadly into the darkness. “Good. First of all, take their shuttle. I don't want them running away.”

  “On it.”

  Zino switched to another channel. “Is the ship ready to blow?

  “Soon as they're inside,” said another of his mercenaries.

  “Make sure you can do it by hand if it doesn't go off automatically. Let's cover all our bases, shall we?”

  “Yes, sir,” said the mercenary.

  *

  The mercenary, a human in light armour, sidled down the corridor silently and slipped into the apartment. He looked around quickly, then headed forward.

  A hole in the ceiling cast light into the apartment. He approached it carefully to see if there was anyone still in the shuttle. When he was certain, he hauled himself up through the hole.

  Inside, he let out an impressed-sounding whistle. This thing was military-grade. No wonder they hadn't be able to spot its approach. If Zino hadn't told them to look for damage to the skin of the habitat, they would never have spotted it.

  He closed the hatch in the floor, locked it, then headed to the front of the shuttle. He set his gun to the side and rubbed his hands with glee as he sat at the console.

  Chapter 33: Yes, Let's

  Rurthk stepped through the docking tube into the ship. Inside, there was a small antechamber leading to the cockpit on one side and a large cabin on the other. There was a faint sound coming from inside the cabin: Footsteps, a faint muttering.

  A chill swept over Rurthk and he came to a stop. He held up his hand to stop his team behind.

  “Back,” he said softly. “Retreat, quietly and quickly. Now.”

  He stepped back out into the corridor with them.

  “What is it?” said Olivia.

  “Sounds like the scientists are in there, but no one guarding them. What does that sound like to you?”

  “Someone's playing us,” said Eloise. “They know we're here.”

  *

  In the stealth shuttle, the mercenary ran his fingers across the console. He gestured at it to take off.

  Nothing happened.

  He tried again, without success. He tried and failed to access other systems. The damned thing had a DNA lock on it!

  He called Zino. “I can't get in,” he said. “The shuttle's locked.”

  “Oh well,” Zino said. “It was always a possibility.” He didn't seem too troubled by it. “We'll just have to go to Plan B,” he said.

  “What's Plan B?” said the mercenary.

  On the other end of the line, Zino smiled with glee. “This,” he said, tapping a command inside the gloves of his suit to activate the explosives he'd hidden inside the mercenary's armour.

  A sharp boom echoed through the structure, and the line went dead.

  *

  “I'm guessing that's not a good sound,” said Eloise swinging round, her rifle ready.

  “No,” said Rurthk. “Back to the shuttle, now!”

  They ran back they'd come. The lamps atop their rifles sent spots of light across the dark apartment. There was even less light than before, Rurthk realised. The shuttle had been casting light through the hole in the ceiling, but now its hatch was closed.

  “Laodicean,” said Rurthk, nodding towards the hole.

  Laodicean moved forward until he was a couple of metres away from the hole then extended his effector fields to push as the hatch from beneath. There was a momentary whine, then the hatch gave way. Smoke filled with glowing cinders billowed out of the ceiling.

  Rurthk extended a temporary helmet of effector fields so he could breath and moved forward to look through the hole. He grabbed onto the lip, pulled himself up, and looked inside.

  The shuttle was intact, but that was about it. Everything inside was scorched. All the consoles had been shattered. If the shuttle's hull hadn't been reinforced, no doubt it would have been torn apart too. As it was, the shuttle was unusable.

  Rurthk activated his comms. “Mero, I want the Outsider here as soon as possible.”

  “It'll take a while,” said Mero.

  “Then get on it. We'll tell you where to meet us when we know.”

  “Sure thing, Cap.”

  Rurthk lowered himself back through the hole.

  “What now?” said Laodicean.

  “Now we find out who's foolish enough to try and get themselves trapped in here with us,” said Rurthk.

  *

  “I'm sorry, Mr. Zino,” said the voice on the line. “They didn't enter the ship.”

  “Were they at the door?” said Zino.

  “Well … yes, but they turned around and –”

  “Then why didn't you set the bomb off the moment they turned around?”

  The mercenary hesitated.

  “Never mind,” growled Zino. “Where are they now?”

  “They headed back down the corridor. I don't know where they went after that.”

  “Go after them,” said Zino, taking his gun out. “Let's do this the old fashioned way.”

  “Yes, let's,” said Rurthk, stepping into the apartment, gun ready.

  Chapter 34: I've Only Killed One Tethyan Before Now

  Rurthk and Zino levelled their rifles at each other simultaneously. They stood either side of the apartment's half-open door, each of them coated in darkness.

  “Zino. What're you playing at this time?” Rurthk asked.

  “New employers,” said Zino, smiling. “They are so much more fun than Sukone. They don't try and talk my ear off with pseudo philosophy. They just get stuff done. And they're a lot more powerful too.”

  “Vihan Yvredi. I thought they wanted you dead.”

  “What's a little killing between friends?” said Zino. “What matters is, we've found a mutually beneficial relationship.”

  Rurthk snorted. “Yeah, or they're getting desperate. So, how long before you betray them?”

  Zino shrugged. “We'll see.”

  “Any chance of it being now?”

  “I don't think so,” said Zino.

  “Oh well,” said Rurthk. “I was getting sick of seeing your face anyway.”

  “Not a problem,” said Zino, grinning broadly again.

  Too late, Rurthk saw a tiny motion of his glove, showing that he was signalling inside it. Before he could react, a human in armour leapt through the door, coming between them. The intruder swept Rurthk's rifle to the side and levelled a pistol at him.

  Before he could fire, Rurthk leapt forward, headbutting him. He threw the man back into Zino.

  Zino stumbled back, deeper into the apartment, but quickly raised his rifle again. Taking advantage of
the moment, Rurthk went for the door. As he squeezed through, he heard Zino fire, but he made it into the corridor without being hit, and leapt behind the cover of the wall.

  Eloise and Olivia came running down the corridor as he emerged. He'd had his comm active during his conversation with Zino so they'd know what was happening.

  “Get him?” said Eloise.

  The merc came running out into the corridor, only to be shot down by Eloise, Olivia, and Laodicean, who had just emerged from another apartment. Zino fired at them from inside.

  “I guess not,” said Eloise, leaping back.

  “Run,” said Rurthk, pointing deeper into the habitation complex. “This way!”

  He lay down covering fire into the apartment as the others crossed in front of the doorway, then they sprinted away.

  Eloise kept in front, with Olivia in the middle, and Rurthk and Laodicean covering the rear. They had barely got a couple of metres when Zino leaned out from the cover of the doorway and fired.

  “Change of team, Rurthk?” he called. “This'll be fun. I've only killed one Tethyan before now.”

  Laodicean's response was impressive: Firing simultaneously with his aquatic gun and a normal rifle, he reached out a sudden ribbon of effector field, moving to smack Zino, who had to duck back inside.

  “Is that Felix Zino?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” said Rurthk.

  “A shame I am not in position to arrest him.”

  “If you want to try, be my guest.” Rurthk fired down the corridor again.

  From up ahead, Eloise said, “Uh, Rur, we've got company.”

  A motley gang of mercs emerged from around a corner up ahead. There were humans, Glaber, a couple of Petaurs.

  Eloise jumped into an apartment doorway for cover, dragging Olivia with her. Rurthk did the same in a door behind her, and Laodicean took up an apartment opposite.