by Thomas Fay
I waited until they had disappeared outside. Then I stood up. I was just about to leave when my eyes fell upon one of the bar patrons. He was seated in the corner. A corner that afforded a perfect view of the entire bar. The man was dressed in a standard star-port tech uniform. He carried no visible weapon. In fact, there was nothing unusual about him. But I recognised him instantly. Jonas Tan. One of the best covert operatives the Space Navy had ever trained. I could only wonder why he was here but, whatever it was, it had to be a major operation. Jonas wasn’t the type of man you sent unless the fate of the universe or, more importantly, the UEP was on the line.
I left the bar at a run.
13.
Breathing heavily, I opened the door to Selize’s quarters.
‘I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away,’ Selize said. She was still sprawled out on the bed. I found myself wondering what she actually did all day, something I hadn’t really had time to think about before. Her quarters were lavish, and she had a seemingly endless closet of expensive garments, the majority of which looked like they were made of real, organic fibres. Clearly, she was wealthy. I realised I knew very little about her. The telepathic bond created a level of intimacy that usually only existed after months, if not years, together.
‘Is everything alright?’ she asked.
‘They took Roger D,’ I said, between breaths.
Selize sat up.
‘Who?’
‘Lars Marvik showed up at the bar instead of Roger D. He runs a competing deep-space reconnaissance outfit operating out of the Maelstrom Centauri Installation near Omicron Alpha. He’s the one that set those Kadmian Raiders on us in the asteroid field. He said Roger D’s been arrested for acts of piracy.’
‘That’s not good. We take piracy very seriously here. Well, anything that interferes with the free flow of commerce.’
‘Can you get in touch with Dayna?’
‘Of course.’
Selize closed her eyes. I stood there catching my breath as I admired her perfect physique. A frown suddenly appeared on her flawless face.
‘What’s wrong?’ I asked.
‘I can’t sense Dayna.’
‘That’s not good.’
‘No, it’s really not. The Centaurian telepathic bond is not easily broken. Unless …’
‘They injected her with a neural inhibitor.’
Selize shuddered.
‘That’s barbaric! Do you know what it does to us to be deprived of our bond?’
‘I remember you said when I was injected with—’
‘No, that was different. While injecting our partner with an inhibitor is unpleasant, it’s nothing compared to injecting one of us directly. I can’t even think about what that would be like, to be cut-off from everyone, unable to sense them.’
‘We need to find them. Fast,’ I said.
Selize stood up.
‘I’m coming with you.’
I was about to protest but, seeing the look of determination on her face, I simply nodded.
‘We need to find the rest of the crew,’ I said.
‘Where do we start?’ Selize asked.
‘Medical centre. Jeni Nix should be there. Once we have her, we get Mason Turk and then we figure out how to free Roger D and where they took Dayna.’
‘What are we waiting for?’
‘You need to put some clothes on.’
Selize pulled on a tight-fitting midnight-blue dress. She might as well not have been wearing anything, given the way it hugged her body, accentuating every curve.
‘Better?’ she asked.
‘Not really but it would take too long to explain. Come on, we’d better hurry. Marvik only gave me until tomorrow morning.’
14.
Jeni Nix’s eyes narrowed dangerously as we entered the medical centre. She stood up from the terminal she’d been working on and approached us. Several medics and nurses looked our way. I recognised the nurse from my previous visit.
‘What do you want?’ Jeni asked, her tone cold.
‘We need your help—’
‘What makes you think I would help you?’
‘Roger D’s been taken by Marvik and we can’t find Dayna.’
Jeni’s eyes opened slightly as she cast a glance at the other medical staff. Lowering her voice, she said, ‘Not here. Follow me.’
Her jet-black hair bobbed up and down as she led us into a private consulting room in the medical centre. She motioned for us to sit down.
‘What happened? Start at the beginning,’ she said, taking a seat behind a white metallic alloy desk. I was surprised she was being so calm. Part of me had expected her to blame me for what was happening.
‘I was supposed to meet Roger D in the bar. Marvik showed up instead with a couple of thugs. He told me Roger D had been arrested for acts of piracy and that if we didn’t hand over the profits from the last mission and leave Dyson Alpha, then Roger D would end up on a Sirius penal colony. Permanently.’
‘What about Dayna?’
‘We don’t know but we think they’ve used a neural inhibitor on her. Selize can’t sense her.’
‘This is bad. Marvik’s been after us for a while now. The fact that he hired those Kadmian Raiders showed how serious he is.’
‘Can we go to the authorities?’
‘We could but, judging by what Marvik told you, it won’t help us. He’s obviously framed Roger D for something. Probably for something he did himself. Not that Roger D isn’t guilty of any number of indiscretions himself.’
‘We need to find them.’
‘That part is painfully obvious,’ Jeni said. ‘We’d better go and get Mason. If this thing gets physical, we’ll need his help.’
An intercom chimed on the desk. Jeni reached across with her slender hand and activated it.
‘Yes?’
‘Jeni? There’s a p-wave from Earth for you.’
‘Tell them I’m busy. I can’t—’
‘He says he’s your husband.’
Jeni’s hand began to tremble as she pushed the switch on the intercom.
‘I don’t have a husband. He must be mistaken.’
‘Jeni, he says his name is Malcolm. He says he’s been searching for you for years.’
Jeni’s eyes filled with tears as she pressed the button once more.
‘It’s a mistake. I’m sorry, I have to go.’
The intercom fell silent.
‘Jeni, are you alright?’ I asked.
‘It’s because of you that I’m here. The Space Navy took everything from me!’
‘Jeni, I don’t understand, what happened?’
She stared at me with tear-filled eyes. Her mouth trembled as she clenched her fists. I thought she would yell at me but instead she took a deep breath and said, ‘Nothing. It’s too late now.’
I was about to say something when I felt Selize’s hand on mine.
Let me.
Are you sure?
Trust me.
‘Jeni, it’s okay,’ Selize said. Her tone was soft, reassuring. Jeni looked at her. As Selize kept talking, Jeni’s tears stopped and she visibly relaxed. Finally, she stood up.
Wiping the tears from her eyes, she moved towards the door and activated the sensor.
‘We need to get Mason. Follow me.’
Selize and I stood up. We followed Jeni out of the medical centre and down a series of corridors until we reached dock 22-A. Passing through the dual airlocks, we boarded the Helios Ark. Mason Turk was on the main deck. The android was performing repairs to the damaged consoles, while a series of diagnostic programs ran in the background, their complex schematic data scrolling down the view screen.
‘Mason, we need your help,’ Jeni said.
‘I’m ready to assist, ma’am,’ Mason Turk replied as he shut off the laser welder he had been using. The dark-blue conduits under his translucent skin shone with an unnatural colour in the artificial light of the cabin. His synthetic android eyes, the irises a delicate mesh of nan
o-filaments, stared at us with an unreadable expression.
‘Lars Marvik has framed Roger D and incapacitated Dayna. We need to get to them before they’re shipped off to a penal colony.’
‘Understood, ma’am. Wait one moment while I scan the communications net for any sign of their location.’
Mason Turk sat down. His fingers became a blur as he input instructions into the console in front of him. The diagnostic programs disappeared. In their place, a sophisticated infiltration interface sprang up. The program inserted itself into the Dyson Alpha star port’s main network. After sixty seconds it lit up with a schematic of the star port. A section on the top level was highlighted in red.
‘Do you have something?’ I asked.
‘I believe so, sir. While I have been unable to locate Dayna, I’ve found Roger D. He is being held on deck twenty-eight of the Dyson Alpha star port.’
‘Deck twenty-eight? That’s the maximum security Centaurian command centre. There’s no way we’re getting in there!’ I exclaimed.
‘Not necessarily,’ Selize said.
‘What do you mean?’
Her crystalline eyes appraised me carefully.
‘Selize?’
‘I know the commander of the star port.’
‘What? How?’
Selize said nothing.
‘C’mon, Selize. We need your help.’
‘Alright, I’ll talk to her. She won’t be thrilled about this but I’m fairly sure she’ll help.’
‘Who is she?’ I asked.
Selize remained silent. Shrugging, I turned back to the others.
‘We need a plan.’
‘To break into the most secure deck on the star port?’ Jeni asked. ‘You don’t need a plan—you need an army.’
I shook my head.
‘No, we need a plan to deal with Marvik. We need to shut him down for good.’
15.
The Helios Ark disengaged from dock 22-A. Its manoeuvring thrusters fired intermittently as it rotated away from the Dyson Alpha star port. Chiron’s reflected light bathed the exterior of the star ship in an amethyst hue as the Helios Ark’s modified class E engine ignited, propelling it into the emptiness of space. Within seconds the ship was a bright spark of light receding into the distance.
‘Alright, they’re clear,’ I said. ‘Let’s hope Marvik buys it.’
‘I’m sure he’s got someone watching the ship. He’ll know it’s gone,’ Selize said.
‘I hope you’re right.’
‘John?’
‘Yes, Selize?’
‘What did Jeni mean when she said it was your fault? And the Space Navy?’
I took a deep breath. I guess in hindsight I’d managed to avoid this conversation for long enough.
‘Selize, I … used to work for the Space Navy.’
Her eyes opened wider.
‘I resigned just before I came here. As for Jeni … I think she used to work in medical research at one of the classified UEP facilities. I guess it didn’t end well.’
‘When were you planning on telling me all of this?’
‘Now,’ I said, grinning.
She smiled.
‘When this is over we’ll talk more about this.’
I nodded.
‘C’mon.’
We made our way down the narrow corridors back into the central part of the star port. Reaching the central turbo-lift bank, we stopped.
I turned to Selize.
‘You’re sure about this?’ I asked.
‘Yes. I’ll be fine.’
She reached out and caressed my face. I pulled her close and kissed her deeply. It felt like every single neuron in my brain was firing at once.
‘Be careful,’ she whispered.
‘You too.’
I watched her enter the turbo-lift. The doors slid shut and she was gone. Taking a deep breath, I walked into the star-port depository. Two guards eyed me suspiciously, their hands tensing around powerful beam weapons. They were Black Raven mercenaries, the best private security force in the known universe. An older man, whom I judged to be the clerk, motioned for them to relax.
‘Welcome, Mr …?’ the clerk greeted me.
‘Stanton. John Stanton,’ I said.
‘Mr Stanton. What can I do for you today?’
‘I need to make a withdrawal.’
‘What account please, sir?’
‘It’s under the name Roger D. He’s the captain of the Helios Ark.’
The clerk looked at me intently.
‘Sir, I’ll need an account number and an authorisation code to access the funds. If you would care to input them here.’
The clerk swivelled a liquid data tablet towards me. I quickly entered the details Jeni had given me. The tablet lit up with an amber warning colour.
The clerk raised his eyebrows as he eyed me carefully.
‘Sir, it appears that account has been frozen,’ he said.
I nodded. It looked like the authorities had wasted no time in shutting down Roger D’s accounts and authorisations. It was a miracle we’d managed to get the Helios Ark away before they’d had a chance to seize that too. Although I doubted the ship would be in his name.
‘My mistake. I must have input the codes incorrectly. Allow me to try again,’ I said.
The clerk nodded. Resetting the login screen, he swivelled the liquid data tablet back towards me. Luckily, Jeni had foreseen such a situation and had provided me with one of her personal accounts. I input the codes. The screen flashed up with a satisfactory green light.
The clerk’s eyes opened wide. The account balance was truly staggering. There was clearly more to Jeni Nix than a simple medical researcher. She was hiding something. That much money always meant trouble. Combined with her knowledge of classified UEP augmentation technology, it suggested she had been involved at the highest level. And judging by her hatred of the Space Navy, it had ended badly.
Something I could relate to.
‘Thank you, Mr Stanton. Everything seems in order. What amount would you like to withdraw?’
I told him. He nodded and said, ‘I will retrieve your funds. Please wait here.’
The clerk disappeared into the metallic vault. One of the guards stepped inside, his beam weapon held at the ready. The other remained where he was, covering the door. Neat and professional. The depository took no chances. The clerk reappeared moments later carrying several amethyst-coloured bars of centurium. He stacked them on the counter next to a metallic carry case.
While the majority of the Sol system and human-controlled installations relied on UEP credits, or Sol credits as they were informally called, the use of centurium as currency didn’t surprise me. Controlled by the Centaurian High Council, the amount of centurium mined was restricted—just enough to make it useable as a form of high-value currency but never so much as to devalue it. The current exchange rate was around one hundred thousand Sol credits to one bar.
There were fifteen bars on the counter, enough to buy a small ship.
‘Here you go, sir. The full amount of the most recent deposit made into the ... other account. Is there anything else I can do for you?’
‘No, that’s it.’
‘Have a good day, sir.’
I placed the amethyst-coloured bars inside the case. I keyed it to my thumbprint and voice. Closing it, I walked out of the depository. The two guards returned to the door and watched me walk away.
16.
Chiron shone through the panoramic viewing panel in the Dyson Alpha star port’s bar. I sat at a private booth, watching the patrons going about their business. Space outside the star port was alive with activity. A trio of heavy mining rigs were preparing to jump to Epsilon Centauri. Several free-merchant ships, their ion trails blazing brightly, headed for the frozen moons, while a Trojan Transport passenger ship began its docking manoeuvres.
Tarnee Caldern’s voice momentarily distracted me from my reason for being there.
‘In other news,
an increasing number of Space Navy ships have been reported in orbit around Mars, including two Zenith-class frigates; the Equus and the Lupus. The capital ships are reportedly holding station in high orbit, within striking distance of the Helios Installation. Many have long speculated about Helios declaring its independence if Icarus was successful and now it seems that the UEP is taking no chances. Should Helios move to secede from the UEP protectorate, the response is expected to be swift, with Space Navy forces moving to blockade the orbital installation.’
If I was a betting man, which I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be putting my money on Helios. After what had happened with Icarus, I was fairly certain the UEP would come down hard on any other installation that sought to break away. Helios was substantially smaller than Icarus, with only about ten million inhabitants, and it was far less prosperous.
No, I didn’t like their chances at all.
‘I’m glad to see you didn’t try anything stupid,’ Lars Marvik said. He slid into the seat opposite me.
‘You didn’t really leave me much choice,’ I said, eyeing him warily.
‘Do you have the centurium?’
‘I do.’
‘Show it to me.’
‘Not here,’ I said, shaking my head. ‘We go and get Roger D first.’
Lars’s eyes narrowed.
‘That wasn’t our arrangement.’
‘Things change. Get used to it. The Helios Ark is gone. The funds have been withdrawn. I’ve done everything you asked but there’s no way I’m handing over the money before you free Roger D.’
Lars said nothing. His hand hovered over his pocket. I pictured the laser handgun tucked inside.
‘Let’s go,’ he finally said.
‘Just like that?’ I asked. ‘How are you going to free him from the Centaurians?’
Lars smiled. It was like the grin of a hungry predator.
‘You’ll find out soon enough.’
We stood up and made our way out of the bar. Reaching the central turbo-lift bank, we entered the first available lift. Lars took out a lunar cypher. A compact security by-pass device developed by the Luna Weapon Labs, it was coveted by criminals for its ability to break any known electronic security system. The device was issued to Space Navy covert operatives. The fact that Marvik had one was concerning, to say the least. Using the cypher, Lars took control of the turbo-lift. Bypassing the scans and security checks, he pressed the button for deck twenty-eight. The doors slid open thirty seconds later.