Armageddon Theft: An Arek Lancer Novella

by Troy Osgood

  The Wind’s bridge is two levels. Pilots on the upper left, co-pilots on the upper right. Down a couple steps is weapons and comms on the right and navigation on the left. Dresla stood on the first step down. She was short, by Terran standards and this made her even shorter.

  “Her contact is here,” I told her.

  “How do you know that,” she asked, surprised.

  “She sent a message hidden in the Feed download,” I replied. “Programmed to send when we were in Yersk and got connected to the Feed.”

  Dresla turned, stepping back up to the pilot’s level, and strained to look out the view screen. With our angle it showed just the blue sky and white clouds of Tui, with the system’s sun behind us. It was midday on the planet. A nice and sunny day.

  “So you know where she is going,” Dresla asked without looking away.

  “I do.”

  I expected Dresla to make some kind of argument, something to persuade me to join her in going after Torsi. She didn’t. At least not right now. I knew it was coming as soon as we landed.

  That was fine.

  But I was curious why Torsi had decided to go for the escape pod and not just wait for us to land.

  *****

  Yorunital was a tight city. Almost all skyscrapers, some reaching a hundred stories, all built close together. Overall the city took up a very small footprint on the planet. Maybe three-quarters or a half the size of other cities with the same populations. Very little in the way of parks on the ground level. What I could see was suspended at the higher levels, built on the tops and between skyscrapers. Trams connected the buildings at various levels. Not a single bit of ground space was wasted.

  It grew in the middle of a large and flat plain. Green grass, the thick forests stopping miles from the first metal building.

  Lots of space for the city to expand. None of it used.

  Off to the side was the spaceport, nestled between the buildings and the forest. The only thing expanding out from the circle of skyscrapers. A matte black metal surface covered acres of ground, guide lights marking the various landing sites. A series of low hangers could be seen at the far edge. We were still too far away to see any ground control vehicles or shuttles and maintenance vehicles.

  The buildings themselves were very utilitarian. No real design, just tall. An ugly and lifeless place. Why would anyone want to live there?

  I adjusted the Wind and guided us towards our assigned docking pad. It was near the buildings, which was good as that would put us closer to ground transportation and other facilities. Hopefully near the refueling stations.

  The ship flew slowly over the ground, the green of grass giving way to the black of the landing area. It wasn’t that crowded, I could only see a handful of ships. All around the size of the Wind. One of them stood out, some kind of high-end yacht. Very shiny and fancy. Very expensive. Very out of place.

  Using the thrusters I stopped our forward momentum, a small shudder moving through the ship. Another adjustment and we began to lower to the ground.

  Because of the wedge shape of the ship I couldn’t see anything below us so had to rely on the sensors and the external cameras. Through the monitor I watched the guide lights and the black surface coming closer. Glancing at the monitors I counted down the distance and signaled to Kaylia.

  On her station she hit some controls and we could hear the Wind’s landing gear lowering. A louder noise indicated they had locked into position. I could have done it from my station, all controls were routed to my console, but Kaylia liked being helpful.

  And it was good practice for her. Someday she’s do this by herself.

  The sound of the Wind landing on the hard surface was loud. The ship shook, most of the shock being absorbed by the suspension units built into the landing gear.

  I shut off the thrusters and leaned back in my chair. I could feel Kaylia’s eyes darting from me to Dresla, who was still holding onto the edges of my station to keep herself steady. The kid probably guessed what was coming. I hadn’t had a chance to explain it all, but she was very observant and a quick study. She’d picked up most of it already.

  She shifted, taking the cue from my lack of movement, and began putting the Wind’s systems into standby, prepping the ship for refueling.

  I waited, knowing what was coming.

  Dresla’s hand released the console and she looked out the view window, the only things visible were the tall skyscrapers not that far away. A hundred stories of non-reflective windows and metal. Finally she turned to me.

  Here it came.

  *****

  “Captain Lancer,” Dresla began but I held up a hand to stop her.

  I leaned forward and massaged my temples with my fingers. I knew Dresla was going to ask for my help, give me lots of reasons why I should. Recover a national treasure. Stop a thief. Blah and blah.

  Looking to the side, past Dresla, I could see Kaylia. She watched me, expectant, and I wondered if she had an idea how close it was? The kid was a bad influence on me.

  “I’ll help,” I told Dresla.

  She looked shocked. Kaylia smiled.

  “Torsi stole my escape pod, I want it back,” I continued, not caring if either believed me. “Those things are expensive.”

  I really did want to get the pod back. They were expensive and I couldn’t afford to replace it. Just me, I wouldn’t have cared. But I had the kid to worry about. She’d been entrusted to my care and that meant I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

  That was secondary though.

  I can be pretty selfish sometimes but even I have some limits and some honor.

  From the moment that I found Torsi holding that kid hostage and attempting to escape, I knew I’d help track her down and apprehend her. I’d done some work for the Territorial Protectorate through the years. The TeePees were the police force on Human controlled worlds and colonies. So I had no problem helping out the authorities.

  I also had no problem helping out people on the other side of the law.

  This whole situation with Storw was bad. These people were losing their planet and were becoming pawns of the Planetary Council. It was a crappy situation. They didn’t deserve to have their cultural identity and history sold on the black market along with everything else.

  Especially by one of their own.

  Sometimes I wished I was more of an asshole.

  “If we’re going hunting you need to get someone to control your people,” I told Dresla. Not the nicest way to put it, but I was aggravated. Mostly at myself for being a sap. “They need to stay on the ship and out of Kaylia’s way.”

  “Understood,” Dresla replied turning to leave the bridge. She paused, as if to say something else, but thought better of it.

  Smart.

  I glanced over at Kaylia. She was still studying me, smiling.

  “Not a word.”

  She turned back to her station, still smiling. It was even bigger if that was possible.

  I shook my head and keyed in the commands to track the escape pod.

  CHAPTER NINE

  My bunk was a mess.

  A fifteen by ten space, it was never all that clean to begin with. But there were two of us crashing in it now. Crowded too. Or more crowded than normal. When just me, there was only the bunk with drawers underneath, a desk and a chair. Now there was a collapsible cot for Kaylia and bags of her stuff.

  How had the kid gotten this much stuff in a couple of months? Lots of clothes. So much clothes. Where had she kept it all?

  And when did she wear it? I prided myself on being pretty observant but I’d never noticed Kaylia wearing this many and this different of clothes. I figured she had two or three outfits like I did.

  Shaking my head I made my way over to the bunk, stepping around the cot and piles of clothes. The cot really hadn’t been slept in. The kid and I had been on somewhat off shifts so one of us was piloting and so been able to both use the bunk. I was just glad that Thesans didn’t shed.

&nbs
p; I pulled open the right drawer, which was empty and not that deep. Feeling around the underside of the bunk, I found the button and a panel slid open on the bottom of the drawer showing a keypad of six numbers. I input the code and the false bottom slid open to reveal the hidden compartment.

  Inside was my Sig Sauer T1700 blaster and holster. Standing up, shutting the drawer, I belted the holster on. Low slung, there was a strap on the bottom that fit around my leg above the knee, the rest a belt.

  The powerpack was full and I felt better having the weapon strapped on.

  I could handle myself just fine in a physical fight but with the wide variety of beings in the galaxy, firepower was always nice to have. Especially with no idea of who or what we’d be running into.

  And that was why I ran into the storage room between my bunk and the bridge. I thought about using the secret hatch off my refresher into the room, but that would be overly paranoid. So what if one of the Storwo saw me going into the room?

  There are two storage rooms on either side of the bridge, but the one on the port side had been modified. So had most of the Nomad’s Wind, but this one had a little more care involved.

  I walked into the room and went to the far wall. There wasn’t much in the room itself. I didn’t have many possessions, just a couple of small trunks. If the Wind’s systems didn’t automatically keep the room dust free, I couldn’t imagine how thick it would be. I didn’t come in here or touch them that often.

  Finding the latch and controls hidden on the wall, I opened a secret panel.

  There was a thin compartment built between the wall of the room and the outer hull. There was a cavity running around the Wind, between the hull and the walls. Not enough space for someone to get into and there was a ton of wiring and piping but I’d managed to carve out some space and had the secret compartment installed.

  This was where I kept the stuff I really didn’t want people to know about.

  Most of it was legal to own, in some systems, but not in others.

  A couple different weapons, some blasters and rifles, and even some gear that I’d managed to take with me when I left the 2Es. That stuff was definitely illegal to own in any Planetary Council system. I grabbed one of the rifles, a Carlyle 600, checked the power pack and closed the hatch. Slinging it over my shoulder I reached down and grabbed a Techon 750. A small blaster, it didn’t pack a huge punch but it had range and was accurate.

  Not knowing what Dresla usually packed this was my best guess on what would work for her. I pulled out the holster and belt for it, hoping it would pull tight enough for her to wear.

  I looked the stash over, seeing if there was anything else that I would need. Really wished I’d managed to grab some body armor. The stuff the Earth Expeditionary Forces used was top notch. Even the slimmer stuff I had used in Special Operations. I missed the extra protection.

  Also wondered what was wrong with my life that I had so many weapons and was concerned with not having armor.

  Most freight haulers didn’t worry about this kind of stuff.

  It’s not like I went looking for trouble. It just seemed to find me.

  A lot.

  I sure as hell didn’t seek it out.

  My sister called it the old Lancer luck. Trouble had plagued me my entire life. It’s what basically forced me to join the Earth Expeditionary Forces.

  Which didn’t turn out that bad for me in the long run. Made me a better person. I’d always been scared of what my life would have been like if I hadn’t joined up. Would never know but I knew what I was like before and the path I was heading down. I could just imagine how much worse it would have been.

  Probably would have been dead by now.

  Of course the time as a soldier could have led to my death as well but it would have been a better death.

  Dead is dead, but how you die is pretty important.

  I closed the hatch, sliding the panel into position where it looked just like another deck plate. The hidden compartment was well made, no visible lines to indicate the panel even existed. Well worth the credits I had spent.

  Of course back then I was fresh out of the military, not a care in the world and had no idea how expensive it would be to maintain a ship. Even one the size of the Wind.

  No regrets though. That hidden cache had come in handy far too many times.

  Walking back out into the hall, locking the storage room behind me, I stepped into the bridge and went to my pilot’s station. A couple clicks on the keyboard and I had the escape pods tracking data uploaded to my wristcomm.

  *****

  The ship was silent as I walked through the galley and lounge. The Storwo watched me, paying attention to the weapons I carried, but no one said anything. Did they know what Dresla and I were planning?

  Did they care?

  I was about to step into the hold when a Storwo woman stepped in front of me. Turquoise hair, violet eyes. Those eyes looked up at me, trying to convey something. It took me a couple seconds to place her, I’d only seen her in passing quickly and hadn’t paid that much attention in the first place. She was the mother of the boy that Torsi had taken hostage.

  She reached up and took my free hand, opened her mouth to say something and closed it. She didn’t know the words. Neither of us spoke the others language. I just nodded, hoping it conveyed that thanks weren’t necessary.

  I hate bullies and I hate ones that target kids.

  The woman nodded, tears in the corners of her eyes, and stepped out of my way.

  I walked past her and into the hold. I threaded my way around the cargo containers, Strowo sleeping pallets, the blankets strung up for makeshift shelters and past the cargo I had been carrying when this all started. I still needed to deliver it. At some point.

  Hopefully it wasn’t that time sensitive. With my luck, it probably was, which would end up meaning I wouldn’t get paid. And it probably wouldn’t be something I could turn around and sell to get some of the credits back.

  I didn’t head for the loading ramp, which was still up, but instead went for the side door. Human sized, it was a foot or two above the ground. There was a set of retractable stairs that came out of the hull for when the landing gear was extended more, but here the ship rested a foot above the ground so no need for steps. The door was open and I could see a couple figures outside.

  I could also see the form of a hovercar waiting just beyond the figures.

  Kaylia and Dresla waited for me on the metal deck of the Yorunital docks. It was the matte black, painted dull to not reflect the sunlight. Painted stripes and landing lights dotted the surface, directing ships and people. The kid eyed the weapons as I walked out, she knew where I kept them even though she couldn’t access them herself. Hadn’t taught her the code yet.

  There just hadn’t been time yet to teach her gun safety. Hopefully she’d never need to use the weapons but I was going to make sure she knew how. We’d have to find a planet with a firing range. Just one of many things on my list. Never seemed to be enough time.

  The look Dresla gave was one of surprise. She was wondering where I had gotten the weapons and probably wondering why I was carrying this much weaponry.

  The blasters wouldn’t be a surprise. Any ship carried blasters. There were pirates out there. Not that piracy happened often. There was a lot of coordination involved in piracy, and a hell of a lot of luck. It happened, just rarely. Both blasters were military spec, not civilian. But she knew my history so it shouldn’t have been surprising.

  On the other hand, the rifle would be. It was also military spec but not something that most ship captains would bother carrying. It was too strong to use on a ship. The rifle was an infantry weapon, built for the front lines and warfare, not on board ship combat.

  I doubted that she knew the particular model but there was no mistaking the purpose.

  “The belt should fit,” I told her handing over the Techon.

  Dresla took it and immediately drew the blaster. She checked the power p
ack and held it out at arm’s length, sighting down the barrel. She examined the blaster, turning it around, maintaining good trigger discipline the whole time. She was professional about it.

  You can tell someone that was professionally trained from someone that was just handed a blaster. They just carry the weapon differently. Hard to explain but if you know what to look for, it’s there.

  With a satisfied nod she replaced the blaster in the holster and started strapping the belt on. She had to pull the end pretty far to get it to fit around her tiny waist, having to wrap the excess around the belt itself so wouldn’t be in the way. She adjusted the fit and nodded again.

  “This will work,” she said.

  I looked past her at the hovercar. Getting it had been Dresla’s job. I didn’t care how she got it but we needed one that could go off roads. Most hovercars didn’t have compensators for changing terrain, just made to hover the same distance above flat surfaces. The one she found would work nicely. It was short, a two seater with a low wall cargo storage behind the covered seats. No doors, but there was a windshield. It rested a foot or so off the ground on four thrusters.

  “That will work” I said and pointed at the hovercar.

  Dresla nodded and started walking towards the vehicle. I turned to Kaylia. The kid looked worried. She had seen me in action before, as I had her, but that was before she had been my kid to look after. I think she felt somewhat responsible for my safety as well.

  “Don’t worry kid,” I told her putting a confident and carefree smile on my face. Never let them see that you’re worried. That was one thing my old commander, Colonel Terrence Jessups, used to be fond of saying. Someone that commanded people should never show worry or fear, even if they are feeling it.

  I was only worried because we were rushing into an unknown situation. I know my skills and what I’m capable of. There’s not much that truly worries me in missions like this but the lack of intelligence is a big one.

  Missions like this? I’d been out of the service for five years and some habits were hard to break.