by G J Ogden
“Cute, Tory,” said Rex, whose wicked smile had contorted into something more resembling a grimace. “Just hand over the artefact, and I’ll let you and your pet live.”
“I haven’t found it,” replied Tory, angrily. Though it seemed to Hudson that she was angrier with herself than at Rex. “If I had then I wouldn’t still be on this shithole planet, would I?”
“Come on, Tory, you’re here with a clobber,” said Rex, drawing his own weapon and aiming another red dot onto Hudson’s chest.
Hudson resisted the urge to speak up in protest or in defense of himself. Mostly, this was because he didn’t think he could compete with Tory’s ballsy performance. Also, he was afraid that if he did open his mouth, all that would come out was a timid squeak.
“Clearly you’ve done a deal to have him move it through the checkpoint district for you,” Rex continued, oblivious to Hudson’s butt-clenched terror. “I’m not a fool, Tory. Give me the relic, or I will kill you and take it.”
“See, now you’re talking like a true hunter,” said Tory, in a mocking tone. “But you should have killed me the moment you saw me, because now, you’ve given me time to do this.”
While Rex had been talking, Tory had slowly inched her weapon hand onto her belt and teased out a small capsule from one of the many pouches. Out of the corner of his eye, Hudson just caught sight of Tory flicking the capsule towards the trio of hunters, like tossing a coin, and he immediately shut his eyes. He knew what was coming; Tory had just dropped a glimmer, the slang name for what was essentially a mini flash grenade. They were illegal on all CET planets. However, Hudson had also worked as a courier on the Outer Portal Worlds, where glimmers were often used in flyer jackings.
It was another incredibly ballsy move from Tory, with no guarantee of success, and every chance of getting them killed if it went wrong. However, Hudson knew one thing for certain; all hell was about to break loose.
CHAPTER 12
The glimmer hit the deck a second later, releasing a powerful concussive blast and a blinding flash of white light. The flash only lasted for a fraction of a second, but despite having closed his eyes, Hudson was still rocked by the intensity of the glimmer’s powerful bang. He staggered back, opening his eyes again to see that Tory had also wavered off-balance. Given how close she’d been to the glimmer, Hudson was amazed that she was still standing at all.
A weapon fired, barely audible over the ringing in his ears. Hudson saw that one of the other two hunters was literally shooting blind. Acting on pure instinct he rushed him, grabbing the weapon and then slamming a forearm into his nose. Then Hudson was punched or kicked in the small of his back. He tumbled forward, but recovered just in time to dodge out of the way of another wild shot from the second son. Hudson rushed forward again. Using the pistol he’d taken from the first assailant as a club, he smashed the grip into the side of his attacker’s head. As the young man fell, Hudson glanced up and saw Tory and Rex squaring off against each other, trading blows. The younger hunters may have been blinded by the glimmer, but the more experienced older scavenger seemed to have been less affected.
Hudson watched as Tory soaked up a couple of hard hits, but then blocked and countered with a sharp cross that stunned the larger man. Tory pounced on the opportunity, ducking low and sweeping Rex’s legs from under him. The brawny man hit the deck hard, and before he knew what had happened, Tory was standing over him. She’d recovered her antique single-action revolver and was pointing it at Rex, eyes burning like liquid fire. She clenched her teeth and clicked back the hammer.
“Woah, woah, you got him!” cried Hudson, hobbling to her side. The other two hunters were still out cold.
“That’s not how this works,” spat Tory, keeping her eyes fixed on Rex, who lay still, blood trickling from a cut above his left eye. “If I leave him alive, he’ll just come after me again some other time.”
“And you’ll get the better of him again,” said Hudson, practically pleading with her. “You shoot him now, like this, and it makes you no better than he is.”
“What makes you think I am better than him?” snarled Tory, now looking at Hudson, “You don’t know me. You don’t know what I am.”
Hudson removed the cuffs from his belt and crouched down beside Rex. The older man looked confused, but not afraid, and he remained silent.
“What are you doing?” asked Tory. “Get out of the way, or I’ll shoot you too.”
Hudson flipped over the still-dazed body of Rex, which took more effort than he had anticipated on account of his considerable bulk. Then he cuffed Rex’s hands behind his back, and glanced at the female hunter. “When his two sons wake up, they’ll set him free. You’ll be long gone by then.” He stood up and looked into Tory’s still fiery eyes. “Come on, Tory, don’t do this.”
“Since when did RGF cops give a shit about killing hunters?”
Hudson laughed, weakly, “I guess I’m not your average clobber.”
The corner of Tory’s mouth curled slightly once again, and some of the fire went out of her eyes. She de-cocked her revolver for a second time and holstered it, before folding her arms tightly across her chest. “Okay, but only because you helped me take them down. And I’m still going to rob them for everything they have.”
“That’s the spirit,” said Hudson, realizing the lesser of two evils was as good as he could have hoped for.
“You hear that, Rex?” Tory called over to the handcuffed relic hunter, “This clobber just saved your life.”
“Gee, thanks, why don’t you give him a damn medal or something?” said Rex, laying on the sarcasm thickly.
Tory then removed a small pistol from a pocket on the rear of her belt. Hudson eyed it suspiciously, but before he could question its purpose, Tory aimed and shot a dart into Rex’s huge left arm. The man grunted and then shuffled around so he could look Tory in the eyes.
“You rob me and this isn’t… over Tory…” Rex went on, slurring his words more aggressively as the sentence progressed. “Me and you… have… unfinished… business…” Rex then went quiet and lay completely still. A thick line of drool wept from the corner of his mouth.
“A tranq dart?” queried Hudson, and Tory winked at him, before replacing the small pistol in its pouch.
“Less chance of damaging the merchandise than if I blast holes in them with this.” She tapped the holstered revolver on her hip.
“I’m not even going to ask how you got that,” said Hudson. Though he couldn’t help but imagine that Tory probably pried it from the cold, dead hands of another relic hunter. “Now, assuming you’re not going to tranq, rob or kill me, I don’t suppose you can help me get the hell out of this wreck?”.
Tory raised an eyebrow and then pointed to a corridor on the far side of the room. “Take that passage, then second left, next right and you’ll find a sloping corridor that leads back to the top level. There’s a ladder already in place.” Then she smiled, “One that’s not booby trapped.”
“Good to hear, thanks,” said Hudson. “Promise me you’re not going to shoot them once I’ve gone?”
“I don’t make promises, remember?” replied Tory, but then before Hudson could complain, she added, “But I’ll consider it.”
“I guess that will have to do,” said Hudson, smiling. Then he recovered his weapon and set off towards the corridor that Tory had indicated, before stopping and turning back. Something Rex had said earlier had just bubbled to the front of his mind. In all the excitement, he’d almost forgotten it. “What was it that Rex thought you had?” Hudson asked, wondering if it was related to Ericka’s find. “A relic of some kind?”
“Why do you care?” said Tory, who was already crouched by the side of Rex and going through his pockets. “You interested in turning your coat and becoming a scavenger?” She pulled out a variety of alien artifacts and started placing them into the many pockets of her jacket.
“I’d probably make a better relic hunter than I am an RGF cop,” laughed Hudson.
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“That’s not really saying much, is it?” replied Tory with a healthy dollop of snark. Then she seemed to notice Hudson’s hurt expression and took a brief interlude from her thieving activities to answer his question. This was probably more out of pity than guilt for hurting his feelings. “Rumor has it someone found a new relic on this wreck; some kind of crystal shard. Something no-one has seen before.” She turned back to Rex and started rifling through his webbing pouches. “Scores like that can make your career.”
Hudson was grateful that Tory wasn’t looking at him at that moment, because his face went white as chalk. Ericka’s crystal? He thought, wondering if Tory could possibly be talking about the same item. If other relic hunters know about it then Ericka could still be in danger…
“I’ll have to remember that,” said Hudson, managing to control his voice. He didn’t want to tip off Tory that he knew more about the crystal than he’d let on. “Anyway, I’ll see you around, Tory Bellona. Thanks for the directions, and for not killing me.”
“Hey!” Tory called back, and Hudson stopped again, heart in his mouth. “What’s your name, clobber?”
“Hudson,” Hudson called back. “My name is Hudson Powell.”
“Nice to meet you, Hudson Powell,” said Tory, returning to her acts of pillage. “Do me a favor and stay the hell out of my way from now on…”
CHAPTER 13
Much to his relief, Tory’s directions had been accurate, as was her assertion that the ladder up to the top level wasn’t booby-trapped. Hudson found it ironic that one of the most trustworthy people he’d met since arriving on Brahms Three was a relic hunter. Though he had a feeling that there was more to Tory Bellona than he’d seen. And despite the fact she’d threatened to kill him, he found himself liking her.
Despite almost being shot (twice) and nearly falling to his death (also twice) his first experience inside an alien wreck had been intoxicating. He now understood with absolute clarity why relic hunters would risk their lives again and again to plummet into the depths of these alien machines. It wasn’t only the promise of finding a big score, though that itself was alluring, but the thrill of exploring a new frontier. Hudson had been to dozens of portal worlds, and seen more of the galaxy than most people. And while each world had its unique charms, a planet was a planet was a planet, no matter where in the galaxy it was. The alien wrecks, on the other hand, were truly wonderous, and truly the definition of alien.
Even so, he’d had his fill of extra-terrestrial architecture, at least for the time being. Pulling himself up and out of a crack in the outer hull, Hudson was again met with the oppressive, sweaty heat of Brahms Three’s twin suns. He got his bearings and saw the RGF patrol craft, still parked on the pad outside the guard station. He was too far away to spot if Griff was still inside, and he couldn’t see him prowling around on the outer hull, either. However, wherever he was, Hudson estimated the chances of him being pissed off at pretty much one hundred percent.
Hudson scrambled across the rock-like surface of the alien ship and dropped down in front of the guard station. He could see the patrol craft more clearly now, and Griff wasn’t there. Hudson reasoned that the only other place he could have logically been was inside the guard station. So, reluctantly, he made his way back over to the gaping fissure in the hull. Maybe I’ll get lucky and find out that one of the relic hunters took him hostage. Or, even better, shot him full of holes… Hudson thought to himself, but he knew it was wishful thinking.
Hudson again struggled to traverse the slippery armor plates and solidified liquid armor of the alien ship. Soon, he began to hear the murmur of voices from inside the cavernous space that housed the guard station. And he was able to clearly discern the cantankerous, nasal intonations of his crooked training officer. He took a deep breath and headed inside, ready to face the music. At least I’ll be able to find out if the guard was found alive, Hudson mused. He was thinking of the RGF officer that met him initially and who had fallen heavily down the sloped corridor.
As he approached the guard station, he could see that at least six RGF officers were now in the room. There were also four relic hunters that had their hands cuffed behind their backs. Three of them were Rex and his two sons, but he couldn’t quite make out the fourth. Worrying that it might have been Tory, he changed direction in order to get a better look, but it wasn’t her. And to his surprise he discovered that he felt relieved. He could also see the guard who had fallen down the corridor, lying on an improvised cot bed. He had bandages wrapped around his head and was being attended to by a medic, but he was awake and appeared well. Hudson was about to head over and check on him, when he caught sight of Griff. His training officer was red-faced and sweaty, piles of supply boxes stacked at his side. A half-smoked cigarette poked out of his thin mouth, with another six burned-out stubs littering the deck around his feet.
“Where the hell have you been?” Griff shouted over, plucking the cigarette from his lips and throwing his hands out wide. He didn’t wait for Hudson to answer, and just jabbed a yellowed finger at his own shoulder. “Do you see these stripes, rook? These are my, ‘I don’t carry boxes of crap inside alien space ships’ stripes. You see what’s wrong with this picture?”
“Hey, I’m sorry,” said Hudson, though he wasn’t sorry at all. The fact that Griff had been required to lug the supplies inside himself amused him greatly, though he knew better than to show it. “It’s not like I planned to get shot at by a band of lunatic relic hunters, and then fall thirty meters down a shaft. I’ve been lost in this ship for well over an hour.”
“And yet here you are, alive and well,” growled Griff, “The least you could have done was break your damn neck or catch a bullet or two, but you can’t even get that right!”
Hudson felt like shoving Griff down one of the angled corridors, but instead he bit his tongue and accepted the verbal beating. He didn’t want to anger Griff any further, and cause more delay. The adventure inside the alien wreck had distracted him from the real reason he was out here, which was to help Ericka escape. He felt guilty that he’d almost forgotten about her and their plan. And he felt guiltier still that his thoughts were currently more consumed by images of the fearsome and formidable Tory Bellona. Yet if he dallied for much longer inside the wreck then he risked missing the message from Ericka. If that happened then another RGF patrol craft would be tasked to intercept her. Hudson knew she would then not make it back to the portal, and be captured instead. All of her finds would be seized, and more than likely she’d also end up in a cell, or worse, dead. That would end any hope of helping her brother, and Hudson would be responsible. That was something he didn’t want to have to live with.
“Well, I’m here now, so let’s just get on with the patrol,” said Hudson. “The sooner it’s over, the sooner you’re rid of me, right?”
Griff scowled at him, “What’s the deal with you, rook? Any normal person would bum off on their last day before getting fired. Yet here you are playing hero and ‘doing your duty’ as if you’re bucking for promotion.”
“I’m sorry that I fail to meet your desperately low standards,” said Hudson, with more snark than he’d intended. And he could see that it had only pissed off Griff more.
“Just get back to the ship and get us airborne,” growled Griff. He then grabbed a bottle of water and a fistful of snacks from one of the supply boxes, before storming past Hudson towards the exit. “And don’t push your luck any more than you already have. There are worse things than getting fired from the RGF.”
There wasn’t even an attempt to veil the threat, but Hudson let it slide. He waited for Griff to slip further ahead so that he had space to clear his head and run through the plan in his mind. It was simple enough. He had already given Ericka the RGF patrol routes around the scavenger town and perimeter of the checkpoint district. Ericka would be waiting in her ship, and at the ideal moment, she would blast off and make a run for it. The Shaak radiation detectors around the perimeter would pick up her u
nregistered claims and the RGF would be alerted to hunt her down.
The Shaak detector was an electronic customs border that surrounded the base and alien wreck site. It worked by measuring the precise quantity of Shaak radiation present on each ship. All ships that arrived in the system were scanned and the exact level of alien radiation was recorded as part of their manifest. The RGF checkpoints would then measure the radiation level of each relic hunter’s total score. Any alien items that were transferred to the relic hunters’ ships were added to their manifests. Individual hunters arriving on transports were processed in a similar way, except the Shaak levels were recorded on their personal IDs instead. This made it simple to determine whether anyone was attempting to leave the system with undeclared alien tech, no matter how small the amount.
The timing of the operation had to be perfect. Hudson’s patrol craft had to be closest to the base when Ericka departed, while the second on-duty patrol craft was on the opposite side of the perimeter. Once Hudson was in pursuit, he’d put on a show of chasing Ericka down, only to be forced to fall back at the last moment with mysterious engine difficulties. By this point, Ericka would be too far ahead for any other RGF ship to catch her. And once she was through the portal, she’d be in the clear.
Hudson may have been a rookie RGF officer, but he’d also paid attention during his lectures at the academy. He knew that for the RGF to prove that Ericka had smuggled undeclared alien artifacts from Brahms Three, they needed to catch her before she left the system. Once she was through a portal, there were dozens of other ways that a hunter could acquire alien tech, thus altering the total level of Shaak radiation on their ship. As soon as the ship passed through another Shaak radiation perimeter, the ship’s manifest would be updated. This new level of radiation would then become the baseline.