“Spaceport,” I throw back to Jordi. “Hang on, it’s gonna be rough.”
“You’re not wrong,” I hear him say as he lets off a few shots through the rear of the pod. Some way behind us, and careering across the mainway like crazy is the remaining pod, presumably manned by the Chief, who has somehow survived the explosion. I’m guessing he isn’t happy, but then again, I’m not exactly overjoyed.
I swerve from one side to the other, just in case our pursuer has drawn a line of fire, but none comes. However, he is catching us. Pods weren’t designed to race with two occupants, and ours is the slower of the two.
I see the spaceport’s entry gates some way ahead, just as another blast of wind almost pushes us into the warehouses on our left. I pull us back into line, and we’re heading at speed to the gates, when I yank us around and to a halt, facing the rapidly oncoming pod.
“Indy, what the hell?” Jordi screams.
“We don’t have access codes. The driver was supposed to get us through. And if you hadn’t heard, I’m the most wanted person on this planet, so once they spot me”—and I think, for not the first time in my life, exactly how much I stand out in any crowd—“we’re spacetoast.” I steel myself. “We’re going to have to fight our way out of this one.”
“You planning to fight the tornadoes, too?” Jordi gesticulates to the darkening sky. “Whatever we do, we need to do it fast.”
The Chief’s pod comes to a halt several meters in front of me. He may have survived, but there’s a good reason for that: he’s smart enough to take caution when needed. Caution over anger. I should learn that. I brace myself and ready the pod for our next maneuver. I hear the engines whine as I hold it back against the brake, building stored energy like a coiled spring.
“Indy!” Jordi is grabbing my shoulder. I shake him off.
“Indy, turn around!”
I quickly look back at him, blood rising in my face. “What?”
“Not you—the pod! Turn around! The gate’s opening.”
He’s right. The gate is opening. The tornado approach means no-one is around to challenge us. I have just a few seconds to make or break. I unleash the pod’s screaming turbine and throw the craft into full-lock. We spin wildly and fishtail toward the gate.
The gate stops, leaving an opening barely pod-width. “Hold on!” I yell back to Jordi, and I smash us through the opening, shearing off swathes of plastisteel on either side of the pod and throwing us around in our seats.
“The gate’s closing again,” Jordi calls over the turbine’s whine. “I think we’ll lose him.”
I keep the pod pinned to full throttle, now searching the landing pads for the port-ID Sloper gave me. I hear a crash behind me over the wind noise. Jordi shouts at me. “He crashed. We made it.”
I shake my head, and crouch over the pod’s controls as we speed along. We haven’t made it yet. I have to find the salvage cruiser fast. Our skirmish has cut our already tight launch window to nothing, and any minute the authorities will close the port to takeoffs before the storm hits.
I spot the landing pad ID and swerve around to park next to the run-down looking vessel. The wind drops in the lee of the ship’s structure, but I barely register it as we lumber up the open ramp, our suits protesting. A movement catches the corner of my eye, and I look to see a speeding pod coming toward us.
“Hurry, Jordi. We’ve got company.”
Jordi beats me up the ramp, and is already up into the helmroom with the ship fired up. I jump in beside him and punch the pad to bring up the ramp controls. I feel the ship shudder in the high winds. Simple physics means it won’t blow away, but the movement is unnerving and adds to my panic.
I’m about to bring up the ramp when I hear a Rykkan-accented voice call up into the ship. “Wait!”
Oh jeepers. Rykkan port authorities.
“Close the ramp!” Jordi grunts.
I pause a moment. Shutting an innocent Rykkan in the ramp will kill them. I’m not against dispatching outlaws trying to kill me, but innocent victims? Not so much. My hesitation costs me, as the voice grows louder, and they are in the ship.
I tap the button, and the ramp rises. “Take her up, Jordi.”
He needs no invitation, and we launch slowly, to clear the port. Along with whichever Rykkan is now our hostage.
I turn around in my chair and level my pistol, waiting for the official to emerge from the ramp exit and into the helmroom.
A squat figure trundles up the passageway.
Aktip.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I point to the comms seat behind me and motion Aktip to fasten her harness. Talking can wait.
I punch up the holoscreen and wince at what I see. We’re not going to avoid the tornado. “Looks like it could be a rough ride,” I say to Jordi. He is momentarily preoccupied with the controls, then taps the input and we soar into the sky on anti-grav propulsion only.
He jerks his head back to Aktip. “Who’s your friend?”
“You have suspicion,” Aktip states. “But I am in service to Madam Captain. She will confirm this.”
Jordi turns to me, and I shrug before looking at Aktip. “Why did you board our ship? Surely that is going beyond your debt?”
Aktip’s head swivels from side to side two or three times, then she stops. “You were in danger—”
“I think we still are,” Jordi mutters, but I shut him down with a wave of my hand. He's busy enough getting us out of here.
“Please explain.” I fold my arms.
“I saw your approach to the spaceport.”
“How did you know it was me?”
“There was an all-comms alert. I saw your predicament, and I opened the gate.”
“That was you? But—”
“You do not remember? I am a comms engineer. My job is at the spaceport.”
Jordi nudges me in the ribs. I shut him up. “Go on, Aktip. Why does this mean you had to board our ship? I might not be able to set you back down ... for some time.”
Jordi nudges me again. I spin back to him. “What?” He points up to the holo. We’re about to dance with the tornadoes. “Aktip, hold on tight. We’ll pick up the conversation shortly.” I continue to stare at the screen. “Jordi, what are you thinking?”
He grins. “You mean, have I ever talked my way out of a tornado before? I survived my first encounter with you, didn’t I?”
I shake my head.
Aktip makes a noise. “Excuse me, Madam Captain.”
I look back at the distressed Rykkan. “Yes?”
“I also disabled all the port warnings and bypassed lockdown. The port authorities won’t be able to track us.”
I notice she says “us.” I wondered why no one had set off any alerts, but I’d assumed Sloper must have paid off his spaceport contacts. “Thank you.”
Aktip’s eyes pulse. “We are invisible to the tracking systems.”
“Yes, Aktip, I get it. Thanks again.”
Jordi takes his eyes of the screen for a moment to look at us both. “I think what your friend is saying is that we’re on our own with this tornado storm. We’ll get no guidance from planet-side, and if we crash, no one will know where we are. Assuming you want to be rescued, that is.”
He gives me a strange look and resumes his concentration for moment, then after a brief flick up to the screen, says, “Here we go.”
I suddenly get the sensation we are upside down, as the antigrav propulsion sensors are overwhelmed by Rykkamon’s deadly winds. I am forced to grip the sides of my captain’s chair as Jordi throws the ship around, and I hear the clatter of something crashing to the deck behind us. The ship flips again and the propulsion system whines in protest. I hope whatever mercenaries Sloper gave me are experienced. If they are even in the ship.
“Jordi?”
“I got this, Indy. Just hang on.”
I see him punch up the fusiondrive and catch his eye. He grins. “I learned it from you, remember?”
“But I
didn’t fly around a tornado storm. One slip and we’ll hammer ourselves into the planet.”
He blows air noisily out of his mouth. “Always thinking of the negative.”
“I’m no gambler, Jordi.”
Aktip reaches a hand forward as the ship bucks and dives, taps Jordi on the shoulder and he flinches before looking back at her, eyes narrowed. “She makes trust with you, Captain Jordi.”
He flashes a smile at me. “ I like your new friend.”
Then the lights go out and the ship takes a dive, and I see Jordi’s furrowed brow in the glow of the helm controls as he works to save us. The cabin starts to whistle and howl, and a jarring lurch throws my stomach into a somersault.
I briefly catch Jordi concentrating on the holoscreen in front of us, his finger hovering over the helmPad, waiting. He taps the pad, triggered by something he has seen on the screen, and we are thrown off to one side of our seats.
The fusion drive kicks into life, and I am now pressed back into my chair as the ship’s scream turns into a complaining howl.
I see a dark tornado cloud hurtle towards us on the screen, I am flung into the other side of my seat for several seconds like one of the theme park centrifuges on Gamma-4, then we rocket up into the sky.
We are clear, and heading to the upper atmosphere.
“Nice work.” I look at Jordi. “Tell me you didn’t just use the fDrive to fly into a tornado, surf the wind and slingshot us into orbit?”
“Of course not.” He smiles.
“Captain Jordi is lying, Madam,” Aktip says.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I instruct Jordi to take us out of Rykkamon’s jurisdiction and into free space, using only the fDrive. I want to know if we are being tracked, which isn’t possible if we use hyperDrive.
The ship’s systems tell us we are in the clear, and I order him to bring us to a halt, so we can remove the restrictive gravSuits and regroup.
I float down to the captain’s quarters to change. The accommodation is stark and well-used. I glance around the cabin, and after donning a flightSuit, I collect the holocube left for me on the small desk next to the bunk and head back to the helm. I see no sign of Sloper’s promised crew, but they could be also be busy removing suits. Or smashed to a pulp by Jordi’s reckless maneuver: one that I try to convince myself I would never have done.
Jordi is already back and checking the ship’s status. I boot him out of the pilot’s seat. “Time to get acquainted with our crew. Find the NCO; assess any medical needs, and let them know you were personally responsible for the quality of their most recent flight.”
He gives me a pained look and pushes off in the zero-gee. I call after him. “Jordi. Bring the NCO up here. I need to establish the ship’s rules.”
Aktip waits for Jordi to leave, then swivels to face me. “You do not trust him.” Sometimes I find it hard to distinguish between a Rykkan question and a statement. This one is definitely a statement.
I chew my lip, wondering how much to share.
“He was your partner. Why do you no longer trust him?” Aktip’s eyes are dilating and shrinking. Disconcerting.
“He and I were only together briefly at the start ... as partners.” I emphasize the last word. “But he’s been by my side for most of the last two years.”
Aside from the time he spent on Ganymede.
“As for trust, it’s not a question of ‘no longer.’ I actually never did.” I shrug. “It was convenient at the time. But let’s talk about you.” I don’t want Jordi in on the “lifelong debt” conversation.
I pause and look directly at Aktip. “Why did you risk your life to join the ship? Surely you must know I can’t easily take you back to the surface.” I don’t tell Aktip we may not come back at all.
“We may perish,” Aktip says.
Apparently I did tell her. I’d hate to play poker on Rykkamon. I say nothing and motion for her to continue.
“I have a debt for life. You saved me from being kidnapped and taken forcibly from my home planet.”
I don’t question the irony.
Aktip continues. “I saw the alerts and I knew I could be in a position to save you. Now I can be with you—”
“Surely your debt is paid? You risked your own job and status to help us at the spaceport. You don’t need to be with us.”
Aktip’s head swivels rapidly and she stiffens. “You do not want me, Madam Captain? Then I must self-extinguish.” She reaches down with her clawed hand and tries to undo her harness, but I reach over and hold her bulky wrist and gently pull her hand away.
“No, it’s not like that. Help me understand.”
Aktip relaxes, and I see just how affected she is by my mood.
“My debt is for life. It is not transactional. Because of my actions, even my friends cannot now prevent me from being pursued on Rykkamon. I am safest with you, where I can still fulfill my debt’s obligations.”
I regard the alien’s features: the flat visage, large and wide lips, the squat head and powerfully muscled body. No wonder they are hired as mercenaries for lower-gravity environments. It dawns on me that, to outsiders, the very crime I’m accused of—taking Rykkans off Rykkamon and selling them for hire on other planets—I now give the appearance of committing. I shake my head quickly. “Wait. Of course. You’ve never been off-planet, or in zero-gee before, have you?”
Aktip shakes her head.
“Any side effects?”
She looks around, and shivers slightly. “I do not think so. But I will tell you if I do.” She focuses back on me. “My presence here causes you stress?”
Even the Rykkan cannot decipher my cocktail of guilt, fear and anger. I open my mouth to answer when Jordi flies back into the helm, trailed by a grizzly and unshaven man in his mid-thirties, clad in space-fatigues.
“Don’t worry, Aktip. It’s my presence that causes her stress”— Jordi shoots me a grin—“in a good way. She’s wondering when we’ll get time to ourselves in this ship. But I’ve seen her cabin—it’s big enough for two.”
I roll my eyes. “In your dreams.”
“You have them, too?” His eyes sparkle, but he quickly loses the cheeky face when I glare at him. I nod my head at the crew seat, and he pushes himself into it. Sitting’s not really necessary in deep space, but it certainly looks more dignified.
In any case, I need our crew leader to witness my leadership. I look at the unshaven man and raise my eyes. “Please identify yourself.”
The man nods. “Sergeant Danielli, Ma’am. At your service.”
“Are you?” I catch Aktip’s quick head-swivel out of the corner of my eye and feel the corner of my mouth twitch.
Danielli’s brow furrows. “Yes, Ma’am. I do not follow your line of questioning.”
“Let me ask you some questions, Danielli. On this ship, I am the Captain. You follow my orders, and mine alone. Is that understood?”
He looks confused for a moment, then squares me off. “Affirmative, Ma’am. And I vouch for all four of my crew. They’re good people. Ex-Space Marines and a couple of pilots. We’ve been together as a unit for a while.”
I regard him coolly and bide my time before asking my next question.
“Tell me of your loyalty to Sloper, Sergeant.”
“We were hired only for this mission, Ma’am. I have not met Mr Sloper in person.”
I notice he avoids answering the question. A politically savvy fighting man. I cross my arms. “If I offered you double what Sloper is paying you, would you and your men leave Sloper’s service?”
Jordi’s head comes up quickly. “And women. Men and women.” He looks offended at my scowl. “You did tell me to check out the crew. Make sure they were all okay.” He adopts a lopsided grin. “Some of them are definitely okay.”
I look back at the NCO, who has kept a neutral face, waiting for Jordi to finish. “We have only been advanced twenty percent of our money. We get the rest when you return.” He looks uncomfortable. “May I speak plainl
y, Ma’am, since you have?”
My nod gives him permission.
“We were stuck in that hellish heavy-hole—sorry, miss”—he glances at Aktip—“and I needed a job to get us off the planet. I would have taken anything ...” He hesitates.
“But?”
He gives me a defiant look. “My crew and I all saw your fight on the holo. When you rescued that spinhead and cut the jibber’s arm. We agreed that if anyone could get us off the planet, it would be you. We all voted. I knew Sloper had a job available, and Plexi guessed it was you from the subnet chatter. We’re—”
I hold up my hand. “First order, Danielli.”
He salutes, smartly tucking his feet into the grabrail. “Yes, Ma’am.”
“The Rykkan over there?”—I point to Aktip—“Her name is Aktip and she’s the ‘spinhead’ I rescued.” I stare the man down until he is visibly uncomfortable. “And Danielli ... don’t ever call a Rykkan a spinhead ever again.”
Danielli collects himself, tells me ‘yes, Ma’am,’ then turns to Aktip and salutes. “At your service, Ma’am. I apologize for any unintended offense given.”
“You did not intend offense,” Aktip states.
“That is correct, Ma’am, I did not—”
“She is telling you what you intended. She’s not asking for clarification, Danielli.”
“I see. Sorry, Ma’am.” I see a thought cross his face. “May I ask where we are heading, Ma’am?”
I smile. “You may not, Sergeant. And please do not call me ‘Ma’am.’ You may use ‘Captain’ when on duty, or Indy when you are stood down. Speaking of which, we are shortly going into hyperDrive. Do any of your crew need assistance before we jump?”
“No, Captain. Just a few bumps and bruises.”
“I can rub medcream on the lady’s bumps.” Jordi smirks, then ducks as I throw the holocube at his head.
I turn back to Danielli. “Sergeant, you are dismissed. Please be ready for disembarking, fully armed and suited, on exit from our jump. I appreciate your offered loyalty. I hope to actually earn it one day.”
Constellation (Blood Empire Book 1) Page 5